Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is approaching legendary status in South Florida for his tape-measure home runs. On Monday night, he hit a grand slam that damaged a video board above the left field stands at Marlins Park.
With the bases loaded and the count full, the crowd of 25,155 was already standing and cheering when the Colorado Rockies' Jamie Moyer threw the pitch that Stanton would send out of the park. Stanton gave the crowd a curtain call after returning to the dugout.
Shortly after he finished rounding the bases, the Marlins' TV announcers pointed out the damage to the video scoreboard. Take a look at the video:
Whatever damage was done to the video board, the problem was resolved within a few innings. So it looks like Stanton does not have to worry about team owner Jeffrey Loria sending him a repair bill.
Stanton was asked how the 438-foot shot compared to the other home runs he's hit this year. "Maybe the farthest," he replied. "I don't know about the hardest. But that was pretty good."
The 22-year-old Stanton got off to a bit of a slow start this season, but he has heated up in May. He is hitting .303 and slugging .684 for the month, with 8 home runs and 19 RBI.
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Stanton's power is truly prodigious. 20% of the fly balls he hits leave the park, the 12th best HR/FB ratio in the National League. In just 291 career games, he has already hit 64 home runs.
