Without question, Giancarlo Stanton is one of the most enjoyable players to watch in all of baseball. He is very good in a lot of ways, but he’s also uniquely powerful:
Sad news about Stanton… He's the only player this year to hit a ball 120 MPH, he's done it twice. Leads league in balls 110 MPH+ by 16
— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 27, 2015
For good Measure… This is Giancarlo Stanton's exit velocity compared to league average. pic.twitter.com/vJzqLY2kYg
— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 27, 2015
And he’s almost certainly the only guy in baseball capable of hitting the are-you-kidding-me-how-did-that-go home run he hit off of Jason Hammel last year:
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So, then, it’s mostly with regret that I inform you Stanton was hurt swinging at a pitch last night, breaking a bone in his hand. It’s the hamate bone (you may remember that Albert Almora, Jr. broke his similarly a couple years ago), and it’s not an uncommon break for batters given the shape and location of the bone.
The injury will require surgery, and Stanton is expected to miss four to six weeks (Marlins.com). That will also take him out of the All-Star Game and, sadly, the Home Run Derby.
The only silver lining in one of the brightest stars in the game going down for a while is that he’ll go down at a time when the Marlins project to play just two realistic playoff contenders: the Giants (next series) and the Cubs (the series after that). In other words, Stanton’s absence will incrementally help the Cubs, and only one other team with which the Cubs will plausibly compete for a playoff spot.