Stanton: Deal no lottery ticket, it’s start of work

Wednesday in Miami’s Marlins Park, owner Jeffrey Loria and the rest of the Marlins brass held a press conference with superstar right fielder Giancarlo Stanton to announce the 13-year deal that is worth $325 million. As previously reported, it includes an opt-out after six years and gives Stanton full no-trade protection.

“This is for the city of Miami,” –@Giancarlo818 pic.twitter.com/9y3Z0iHeiw

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) November 19, 2014

This was quite the big deal, as several Marlins players were present, despite this being the offseason.

Salty, Koehler and Cishek are here for G on this big day for the Fish and for Miami! pic.twitter.com/G0OCpnwAEN

— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) November 19, 2014

Stanton discussed the deal openly, saying it wasn’t about the money.

“I didn’t want to talk about dollars in the meeting,” Stanton said. “I wanted to talk about what’s our plan. Everyone wants to talk about the record-breaking deal. I want to have records on the field and do things on the field. That’s what this is about.

“This was the toughest decision of my life. This is 13 years. I didn’t even go to school for 13 years.”

“It’s an exciting day for Miami, my fans, our fans,” he later said. “This is not a lottery ticket. This is the start of work and a new job. It’s a huge responsibility, and one I’m willing to take.”

The deal is the largest in major professional sports history and the local media asked Loria and his front office several times about possibly being hamstrung down the road on payroll. Each time the front office members reiterated they’re comfortable with how this contract will play out for the team.

Also remember, this deal is incredibly backloaded, which should help in the next few years.

Some other questions centered around Stanton’s 2014 season ending when a pitch hit him in the face and how the Marlins could be confident he’d be the same guy. Both the Marlins’ brass and Stanton expressed zero concern it would linger.

Stanton, 25, finished second in NL MVP voting last season when he hit .288/.395/.555 with 31 doubles, 37 homers, 105 RBI and 13 steals. He led the NL in homers, total bases and slugging percentage despite missing the last few weeks due to his facial injuries.

Here’s some video from the presser:

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