Despite struggles, Giancarlo Stanton can still hit the ball hard
It has been a nightmarish season for Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton. He’s hitting .197/.305/.426 on the year. He has 75 strikeouts, a number that has him tied for seventh most strikeouts in all of baseball. After hitting .253 with eight homers in April, he hit only .173 in May, knocking just four homers. Ten days into June, he’s hitting just .103 on the month. Nightmarish might not be a strong enough word.
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Just because Stanton is talented doesn’t mean he’s immune to having a down period, or even a down season. The key is how he handles it. Stanton is no stranger to adversity; he’s had multiple injuries over his playing career, including taking a fastball to the face. But when Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel spoke with Stanton on Sunday, it was clear that his extended slump is starting to get to him.
“I’m mad about what’s going on, of course,” he said. “I’m just trying not to be miserable. That’s where I don’t want to go.”
Stanton has spilled his blood on the field after a bad beaning, and had his insides spilled in various other injuries in his Marlins time. But these words are as close as he ever comes to spilling his heart. It’s as much as he lets anyone inside his thoughts.
Stanton’s situation in Miami could be worse. Coming into the season, he was seen as the major driver of the Marlins’ offense. If the team was flailing and his lifeless bat was just one among many, that would make Stanton’s slump seem even more significant. But the Marlins have four starters that are currently hitting above .300, and one who is hitting in the .290s. Their success has picked up the team and given Stanton time to go through the struggle cycle: difficulty, more difficulty, problem solving, and rebound.
Stanton is still having issues, but he’s continuing to work with Barry Bonds, the Marlins’ hitting coach, to figure things out. And during the Marlins’ game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, Statcast gave Giancarlo fans (and perhaps even Giancarlo himself) a reason to hope.
The ball that Stanton hit was measured at 123.9 mph, which is the hardest hit ball ever recorded by Statcast. (Not surprisingly, Stanton’s 120.3 mph single from May 2015 was the previous record-holder.) That’s not necessarily a sign that he’s coming out of it, but at the very least we know he can still put a charge on the ball. And for a player like Giancarlo Stanton, that might be all he needs to get going again.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
