Giancarlo Stanton is mired in the worst slump of his career
When you think Miami Marlins baseball, the first images that come to mind are of Jose Fernandez pitching a gem, Giancarlo Stanton hitting moonshot home runs and Marlins Man showing up at every sporting event known to man.
Two of those things remain true, but one has disappeared this month. That would be Stanton’s ability to hit moonshot home runs, or really even get the ball in play.
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The All-Star slugger is currently mired in the worst slump of his seven-year career. After going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Friday, Stanton has gone 4-for-45 with 23 strikeouts over his last 13 games.
Somehow, the Marlins are staying afloat during Stanton’s slump. Despite losing Friday’s game 4-1 to the Nationals, they’re 9-9 this month and 21-20 overall. But they obviously need Stanton to get things turned around, and the sooner it happens the better.
Unfortunately, we’re not sure that’s on the horizon. Over his last three games, Stanton has actually been trending even further down, which didn’t seem possible given where he’s been.
Yikes.
This is definitely the first high-profile challenge new Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds has faced since taking over this winter. He’s taken a very hands on approach with his team so far, but as he also noted before Friday’s game, he has to be careful how he presents information and suggestions to a hitter with Stanton’s track record.
“You have to be careful with what you say and how you present it,” Bonds said. “I’ve got to have the right questions for him, and we have to be on the same page. He expressed some things that he likes to do, and that also helps me. Now, when I’m looking at things or watching film, or whatever, I can see what he likes to do, and I can help guide him back to what he needs to do, and what has worked for him in the past and what can help him in the future.”
Baseball is driven by individual matchups, but it’s still a team game. Perhaps no more so than in situations like this, where multiple people with different experiences, different opinions and different approaches come together to solve a problem and lend support.
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When it gets this bad, sometimes it comes down to the last subject: approach. We saw an indication of that Friday when Stanton ditched his protective helmet for the first time since being hit in the face in 2014. It didn’t necessarily work in Friday’s game, but if it leads to better focus, it might be a key step.
Of course, as with many slumps, sometimes all it takes is one big swing to turn this around. Knowing Stanton, that big swing could come at any time. The Marlins are hoping it’ll be in the first inning on Saturday night.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
