Giancarlo Stanton has been the league’s most dangerous slugger for years, he’s just had trouble putting together a healthy season any time in the last six years.
At 27 years old, Stanton has only accumulated over 600 at bats once in the past six years and only twice in his career. He’ll clear that easily this year if he stays healthy, and as a result, his power numbers are soaring. Stanton hit his 50th home run today – a rocket to centre field that showed off his ridiculous strength.
That 50th home run was a big one in many ways, one of them being that he is now on-pace to hit 63 home runs, which would have him pass Roger Maris’ one-time home run record of 61 home runs in a single season. Despite the fact that Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa all topped that season, some people still hold that record in high regards because of the uncertainty in the others’ era.
Here are some stats about how Stanton’s pace compares to the greats of the past.
Aaron Judge may have won the slug-off this year in the Home Run Derby, but Stanton is proving that he is still king of the long, long ball in the regular season. At this pace, we’d guess he’s also on pace to win the first MVP trophy of his career.
