Miami Marlins’ right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has been cranking out home runs all season long, but he’s really stepped up his game this month. On Sunday against the San Diego Padres, Stanton hit his 17th home run of the month and his 50th this season:
This is @Giancarlo818’s 50th HR of 2017.
So of course it was #crushed. https://t.co/xqsC4nhoXX pic.twitter.com/c8HMJs2QXx
— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2017
That’s a pretty solid blast, easily clearing the wall in right-center field (407 feet from home plate), and it’s another notch in what’s been a remarkable month for Stanton. His 17th home run in August tied the National League record for home runs in that month, jointly held by Willie Mays (1965) and Sammy Sosa (2001). He’s one behind the all-time MLB record for home runs in August, set by Rudy York back in 1938. And he has four games left in the month, so it’s possible he could even reach Sosa’s NL and MLB record for home runs in any month (20 in June 1998).
Beyond that, Stanton is hitting .292/.385/.660 with 5.4 WAR as per FanGraphs, and he’s on pace for 63 home runs this season. So it’s quite possible he could pass the 61 Roger Maris hit in 1961, a record that’s only been beaten by Sosa, Barry Bonds (who has the current record with 73) and Mark McGwire. Stanton himself has said he considers it the true home run record, and his 50th Sunday marks the earliest that anyone’s hit 50 since Bonds and Sosa did in 2001:
There goes No. 50 for Giancarlo Stanton! This is the earliest a player's hit 50 since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa in 2001, per @EliasSports. pic.twitter.com/Wq90ZqFPP3
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 27, 2017
So, we could wind up seeing a very memorable season for Stanton.
