Giancarlo Stanton Crushes a Homer Out of the Park, Literally
Last night, the Tampa Bay Lighting closed out the Montreal Canadiens to move to the Eastern Conference Finals in the NHL. And in the NBA playoffs, the Houston Rockets gave the LA Clippers a taste of their own medicine in a 124-103 drubbing to even that series 2-2. With so much great postseason action, chances are you weren’t watching the LA Dodgers host the Miami Marlins last night. And that’s OK. But you missed an earlier contender for home run of the year.
The shot came off the bat of Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Naturally. In the top of the first, Stanton crushed an 0-1 pitch literally out of Dodger Stadium. Statcast measured it at 475 feet (the third longest recorded by MLB’s real-time tracking system), and it left the park at a speed of 114 miles per hour.
Stanton’s out-of-the-parker was the fifth in Dodger Stadium history. Pittsburgh Pirates great Willie Stargell hit the first — a 506-feet bomb — on August 5, 1969. Stargell hit the second on May 8, 1973, followed by Mike Piazza on September 21, 1997, and Mark McGwire on May 22, 1999.
Unfortunately for the Marlins, Stanton’s highlight-reel homer was the only thing that went their way. Miami was obliterated by the Dodgers, 11-1.
Photo: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
