A Matter of Character…Giancarlo Stanton

A Matter of Character is an idea I have where ,going forward, I’ll pick a sports figure between baseball or basketball and write a column on their career, attributes, awards and so on. This piece might be a weekly thing but I won’t give you my word on that. I tried writing a piece about a year ago for an online blog ran by the internet wrestling blogger, John Canton. The article had to be near 2,000 words and obviously on the topic of wrestling. So I wrote the piece in 2,000 words on the WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan. It was a particularly fun work since I had always loved watch Bryan Danielson when he was up and coming and still love his work to this day. Anyway, the column was titled “A Matter of Character….Daniel Bryan”. This stems basically stems from that. In sports, entertainment and history I believe it’s important to know players for more than just the 3 hours or so you see them on the field,court or in the ring. Stats, where they came from, the schools and colleges they attended are all noteworthy in someones career, especially if they are on the rise to something great.

For my first player I really wanted to write about someone who not only has been dubbed a future all-star but is currently showing off his skills right now. Giancarlo Stanton, formerly Mike Stanton, is someone who I believe is the next big star in the MLB. He is a player that, since his days in triple A, has been looked at as a future All-Star.  At 6’5″ and nearly 250lbs this 22-year-old, yes 22, is and has been on fire just 2 and 1/4 years in.

Mr. Stanton was born Panorama, CA and attended Notre Dame High School located in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. Given his big frame he, naturally, played Football and Basketball but hit the trifecta also playing Baseball. The sport of baseball ,obviously, took to his favor as instead of attending college he opted to go pro and entered the 2007 amateur draft where he was drafted to the Florida Marlins. Giancarlo worked his way in the Minor and double A in Jacksonville where he stood out for his power producing a .273 batting average with 89 humeruns. In 2010 Stanton was called up by the Florida Marlins. He quickly showed off his power in the Bigs, hitting a Grand Slam in the first month at the age of 20. Mr. Stanton is a monster.

Stantons stats so far in his big league career go as : .268 BA, .537 slug% , 185 RBIs and has clocked 69 homeruns. The 69 homeruns ,might I add, have been very big boy hits. From blasting homers at Sunlife Stadiums 2nd level bowl to currently blasting one straight to the video screen in left field at Marlins Park causing one of the LED panels to go off. Needless to say, Giancarlo is a monster. One has to look on at these statistics and let it sink in….sank yet?…..how about now?….ok, so now I challenge you to look at another row of stats, this time by the All-Time Homerun leader, Barry Bonds. His Stats for his first FULL 3 seasons in the MLB go as follows: .283 BA, .491 Slug% with 166 RBIs and 65 HRs. This is with 3 full seasons. Giancarlo is producing more runs and hitting more homers as you see. We can all look on and be amazed by the young guys strength. If he stays healthy and out of trouble we may all be witnessing the next all time home run leader by the end of his career. Once again, he’s a monster.

Just a few weeks ago I was on hand for an early afternoon game where the Miami Marlins were down two runs to the New York Mets. Bottom of the 9th, bases loaded and up to bat is Giancarlo Stanton. He was given a first pitch fastball and POP. Just like that I witnessed my very first grandslam and it came as a walk off by the hand of a pink bat wielding Stanton. That POP when the ball clipped the bat is one that can’t be described. It sounded as if a war cannon had been set off. A thunderous roar that sent that baseball straight to center field slamming into the homerun feature at Marlins Park, which should be named “The Giancarlo Stanton” since he will be the man setting it off the most. I say it once again, he is a Monster.