There are many classifications of offensive statistics over the course of baseball history. The dead ball era of the early 1900’s saw spikes in triples and stolen bases that will most likely never be replicated. Babe Ruth ushered in the era of the hitter in the following decades as home run numbers and batting average figures soared to astronomical levels. The breaking of the color barrier and league expansion saw the statistical trends jump all over the map. Eventually, the pitchers became the dominant force in the 1960’s which would compel the baseball higher-ups to make rule adjustments to help the offense. Nowadays, we all know too well the impact that the Steroid Era had on both the history books and the rule books for Major League Baseball. With all this categorization of player performance over the years, certain seasons are made to look better or worse depending on the era they occurred in. That begs the question: Is Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton on pace for the best power season in Major League Baseball history?
Stanton sent his 26th home run of the season into orbit last night against St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez. The homer was measured out at 484 feet, tying the longest home run of 2015. Whose mark did Stanton tie with this mammoth blast? His own of course. It was his 11th home run of June, a month that has put him on a blistering pace towards history. By ESPN Stats & Info projections, Stanton is on pace for 59 home runs and 149 RBI. Both of those figures would be far and away the highest figures recorded since baseball implemented more stringent drug testing.
Stanton is doing all of this while playing half of his games in a pitcher friendly Marlins Park. According to ESPN’s MLB Park Factor, Stanton’s home field is the second lowest (behind San Francisco’s AT&T Park) in yielding the long ball. Marlins Park isn’t getting to use their gaudy Marlin fixture as much as they’d hoped. He is also driving in runs at this high a rate with a Marlins lineup that outside of Dee Gordon leaves a lot to be desired.
He has 26% of his team’s RBIs, the highest figure in the Majors. The burden is even higher in the home run department. Stanton has 43% of the Marlins’ round-trippers, another league leading tally. It should also be pointed out that he leads the National League in strikeouts with 90, so he’s losing a lot of production opportunities there. When he is making contact though, it is going far and it is bringing home baserunners.
Another factor that should help Stanton as he chases these historic figures is competition. Yes, he has several hitters on his tail in both the home run and RBI categories. Washington’s Bryce Harper sits in second place currently at 24 homers. Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier and Los Angeles’ Albert Pujols have 23. Colorado’s Nolan Arenado is the current silver medalist in RBI at 58. Harper and Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt have 57. Akin to Sammy Sosa’s pursuit of Mark McGwire in the Home Run Chase of ’98, competition can bring out the best in a slugger.
It will be interesting to see if Stanton heats up further as the weather itself heats up this summer. Even if he stays the course, he’s in for a season for the ages. Whether or not it is the greatest power season in baseball history will be left up to debate. Every era has their defenders. Historians will champion Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Hack Wilson’s accolades. Old timers will laud the accomplishments of Ted Williams to Hank Aaron. Our current generation may even turn a blind eye to the indiscretions of McGwire, Sosa, and Barry Bonds in promoting them as having the best power seasons ever. In the end, Giancarlo Stanton is going to work his way into the conversation. And we as fans are going to have tons of fun watching him do it.