Giancarlo Stanton, superstar slugger of New York Yankees and Miami Marlins fame, is celebrating a special MLB milestone.
Giancarlo Stanton just hit a decade in the MLB. Unfortunately for the New York Yankees slugger, he couldn’t celebrate on the field with his teammates.
Instead, the 30-year-old marked the occasion with a video posted to his Twitter account on Monday:
10 years ago tonight I stepped into the MLB for the first time with the Florida Marlins & went by my middle name.
Since then we’ve both changed our names & location ?
The journey continues .. ? pic.twitter.com/lNt2rtiNvJ— Giancarlo Stanton (@Giancarlo818) June 9, 2020
The video starts with Stanton in pinstripes, mashing a mammoth homer to left in the Bronx. It then rewinds to an interview he gave before his MLB debut with the then Florida Marlins on June 8, 2010.
Stanton captioned the tweet, “10 years ago tonight I stepped into the MLB for the first time with the Florida Marlins & went by my middle name. Since then we’ve both changed our names & location[.] The journey continues[.]”
When Stanton first entered the big leagues, his first name appeared as “Mike” in box scores. Also, the two-time All-Star’s first team is now known as the Miami Marlins.
After collecting three singles in his first MLB game, Stanton has gone on to accumulate impressive power numbers in the 10 years since. He’s blasted 308 home runs and posted a career .905 OPS.
In 2017 Stanton crushed 59 dingers and slashed .281/.376/.631 en route to an MVP award. In the ensuing offseason, the Marlins traded him to the Yankees.
Stanton’s first season in New York yielded mixed results. His 211 strikeouts—many in key moments—took some of the shine off his 38 homers and 100 RBIs.
Instead of redeeming himself in 2019, Stanton joined the veritable army of Bombers that spent time on the Injury List that season. He played a mere 18 games.
Now, COVID-19 cancellations have taken out at least half of the 2020 MLB season. Stanton is still waiting for a chance to show Yankees fans that his 60-homer power translates to the Bronx.
In the meantime, happy MLB-iversary, Giancarlo!
