Results tagged ‘ Giancarlo Stanton ’
PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT
As the Marlins near the end of a historic May, here are a few statistical tidbits I’ve put together to hold you over until gametime tonight:
MAY IT NEVER END: With a win tonight or tomorrow, the Marlins will establish a franchise record for most victories in a calendar month. They’re a major league-best 19-8 in May, having previously won 19 games in August of 1997. They’re unbeaten (6-0-3) in 9 series this month and would finish 7-0-3 with one more win against the Nats. By winning both remaining May games to go 21-8 (.724) in May, they’d set a club record for the best winning percentage in any calendar month. They were 18-7 (.720) in June of 2006.
COMFORTABLE ANYWHERE: En route to a 27-22 record, the Marlins are 14-10 at Marlins Park and 13-12 on the road. They’re one of only 4 NL teams and one of only 8 in all of baseball with better-than-.500 records both at home and on the road. The other 7: the Cardinals, Dodgers, Indians, Nationals, Orioles, Rangers and Yankees.
MAN OF THE MONTH: Only 3 Marlins have ever won an NL Player of the Month award: Jeff Conine in June of 1995, Hanley Ramirez in June of 2008 and Emilio Bonifacio in July of 2011. This month may be Giancarlo Stanton’s turn. Here’s a look at the top contenders for the honor through yesterday’s games:
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA: .324 AVG, 9 2B, 0 3B, 11 HR, 27 RBI, .410 OBP, .735 SLG, 1.146 OPS
Carlos Beltran, STL: .310 AVG, 3 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 30 RBI, .400 OBP, .713 SLG, 1.113 OPS
Jonathan Lucroy, MIL: .388 AVG, 8 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, .409 OBP, .659 SLG, 1.068 OPS
POWER SURGE: Giancarlo Stanton’s 11 home runs in May with 2 games to play leave him one shy of the club record for a calendar month. Dan Uggla hit 12 homers in May of 2008. The only other Marlin to hit 11 in a single month was Gary Sheffield in April of 1996.
Major League home run leaders in May:
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA 11
Josh Hamilton, TEX 11
Adam Dunn, CWS 11
Carlos Beltran, STL 10
Josh Reddick, OAK 10
Major League RBI leaders in May:
Carlos Beltran, STL 30
Josh Hamilton, TEX, 28
Giancarlo Stanton, MIA 27
Nelson Cruz, TEX 23
Albert Pujols, LAA, 22
Jose Bautista, TOR 22
Jonathan Lucroy, MIL 22
ONE-MAN WRECKING CREW: Stanton has hit more than half of the Marlins’ total of 21 homers this month…he’s hit as many home runs in May as the full rosters of both the Padres (11) and Giants (11).
PICKING UP THE PACE: In going 8-14 in April, the Marlins averaged only 3.3 runs per game. Their total of 73 runs scored was 15th out of 16 NL clubs and 28th out of 30 teams in all of baseball. In May, however, they’re averaging 4.6 runs per game. Their total of 123 runs in 27 games are 5th-most in the NL and 11th-most in MLB.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: The Marlins have 3 pitchers in their rotation who have thrown no-hitters (Mark Buehrle, Anibal Sanchez and Carlos Zambrano), and tonight’s Anibal Sanchez-Edwin Jackson match-up marks the 2nd time one of them has faced off against another pitcher who also has a no-no on his resume. Mark Buehrle beat Matt Garza of the Cubs April 18 at Marlins Park.
LOOKING FOR A SUPPORT SYSTEM: Speaking of Anibal, he was the Marlins’ tough-luck pitcher a season ago, winning only 8 games despite a 3.67 ERA over 32 starts. In 2011, he allowed 2 runs or fewer in 16 of his 32 starts, but got a loss or a no-decision in 10 of those starts. This year, he’s allowed 2 runs or less in 6 of his first 9 starts and has a loss or a no-decision in 4 of the 6. The Marlins have lost 8 games this month and Anibal Sanchez has started 4 of the 8. He’s 1-3 in 5 May starts despite a 2.97 ERA.
GIMME 5: The Marlins are one of only 7 ML teams that have needed only 5 starting pitchers to this point in the 2012 season. The others are the Angels, the Cardinals, the Dodgers, the Mariners, the Nationals and the Reds. The Nats will fall off that list tomorrow when Chien-Ming Wang replaces Ross Detwiler to start against Miami. Here’s a look at the Marlins’ record in games started by each member of the rotation:
Josh Johnson: 6-4
Mark Buehrle: 6-4
Ricky Nolasco: 6-4
Carlos Zambrano: 5-5
Anibal Sanchez: 4-5
FASHION SENSE: The Marlins have worn their black jerseys in 27 of their first 49 games this season. How they’ve fared in each jersey:
Black: 15-12
White: 6-5
Orange: 4-3
Gray: 2-2
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
I WAS JUST THINKING…
While a great May doesn’t assure anything more than a bad April, it’s worth noting that if the season ended today, the Marlins would be in the Playoffs.
A major league-best 18-7 in May with 4 games to play before we usher in June, the Marlins need one more victory to match the winningest month in franchise history. Miami went 19-10 in August of 1997.
The Marlins’ current .720 winning percentage for the month gives them a shot at a club record as well. The Marlins were 18-7 (.720) in June of 2006. The Marlins would need to win at least 3 of their final 4 this month to better that .720 mark.
The Marlins have had just one day off since April 23. Thursday, a travel day to Philadelphia, will end a run of 20 games in 20 days and 36 games in 37 days. The Marlins are currently 19-13 in the longer stretch.
Miami is unbeaten in 9 series in May. They’d have 7 wins, no losses and 2 splits if they finish off the series victory over the Giants this afternoon. Should they lose today, they’d be 6-0-3 in 9 May series with a 3-game set with the Nats to come.
As if the schedule hasn’t been challenging enough, beginning with tomorrow night’s series opener against Washington, the Marlins’ next 41 games will be against the Nats (7), Phillies (6), Braves (3), Rays (6), Red Sox (6), Blue Jays (3), Cardinals (6) and Brewers (4).
With victory number 69, Ricky Nolasco became the all-time Marlins wins leader when he beat the Rockies on Tuesday, and he’s worn the career strikeout crown since last year. Heading into this afternoon’s start against Matt Cain and the Giants, he’s 5 starts shy of tying Willis for the top spot in club history with 162. He’s 46 innings pitched short of Willis’ club mark of 1,022.2. And Ricky’s next loss would tie Willis’ club mark of 54.
Ricky’s last 3 starts against the Giants have all come against Matt Cain, who he’ll face today. In 2 head-to-head match-ups last season and one this year, Ricky’s posted wins by scores of 5-1, 2-1 and 2-1. Overall, Nolasco is 5-2 with a 1.56 ERA and a .219 average allowed in 7 starts against the Giants, having allowed just one run in each of his last 4 outings against San Francisco.
Yesterday’s 5-3 win over the Giants was a virtual blowout for the Marlins. Each of their first 4 wins against San Fran this year had been one-run games. Overall, Miami’s already posted 11 one-run wins and a major league-high 17 come-from-behind victories.
After going 4-2 against the Giants last season, Miami is 5-1 this year with one to go, winning consecutive season series from San Francisco for the first time ever.
If you doubt Omar Infante has the best all-around numbers of any second baseman in the National League to this point in 2012, check this out.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/position/2b/league/nl
Don’t forget to cast your All-Star ballots either at Marlins.com or on your next visit to Marlins Park.
And from the Fish Tales editorial board, this message: the All-Star Home Run Derby will be an absolute joke if Giancarlo Stanton is not invited to participate.
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
NUMBER CRUNCHING IN CLEVELAND
Here are some of the statistical nuggets I’ve put together for this afternoon’s broadcast in Cleveland…
After going 8-14 in April, the Marlins are a major league-best 13-4 in May with 12 games still to play this month. They’ve got a great shot to set a club record for wins in the month of May (16 in 1996, 1997 and 2008), while their current .765 winning percentage this month gives them a shot to best the existing May mark of .593 (16-11), also in 1996, 1997 and 2008.
The Marlins also stand a legitimate shot to post the winningest month in franchise history, as the existing record is 19 wins (in 29 games) in August of 1997.
Emilio Bonifacio is not in today’s starting lineup, sidelined by a sprained left thumb suffered last night. Boni begins the day with the 6th-longest active consecutive games played streak in Major League Baseball, one of only 7 current runs that exceed 100 games.:
Prince Fielder, DET 220 games
Joey Votto, CIN 165 games
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA, 139 games
Dustin Pedroia, BOS, 138 games
Michael Bourn, ATL 129 games
Emilio Bonifacio, MIA 112 games
Dan Uggla, ATL 103 games
If Bonifacio does not play at all today, the longest active Marlins consecutive games played streak will belong to Hanley Ramirez, who, with his start today, will have played in all 40 games this season. For those who want to impress their friends by immediately screaming out the answer to today’s Metro Ford Trivia Question on the radio broadcast, the longest consecutive games played streak in Marlins history is Juan Pierre’s run of 375 in a row from March 31, 2003 through June 2, 2005.
For comparison sake (all numbers into today’s game):
GIANCARLO STANTON
1st 19 games this season: .234, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .290 OBP, .308 SLG
Last 19 games this season: .320, 8 HR, 19 RBI, .386 OBP, .703 SLG
HANLEY RAMIREZ
Through his first 39 games in 2012: .232, 7 HR, 26 RBI, .306 OBP, .432 SLG
Through his first 39 games in 2011: .211, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .294 OBP, .309 SLG
LOGAN MORRISON
Through his first 35 games in 2012: .252, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .252 OBP, .342 SLG
Through his first 35 games in 2011: .299, 7 HR, 19 RBI, .299 OBP, .385 SLG
GABY SANCHEZ
Through his first 35 games in 2012: .202, 1 HR, 11 RBI, .250 OBP, .303 SLG
Through his first 35 games in 2011: .331, 6 HR, 23 RBI, .412 OBP, .534 SLG
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
ETC.
As the Marlins prepare to open a 3-game series with the Cubs at Marlins Park tonight, a few nuggets I’ve dug up for your enjoyment:
The Marlins lead the all-time series with Chicago 77-76. The Cubs, Expos/Nationals and Brewers are the only 3 National League franchises against whom the Marlins are above .500 all-time. Miami is 169-129 (.567) against the Expos/Nationals franchise and 51-50 (.505) against Milwaukee. The 169 wins against Montreal and Washington are the franchise’s most all-time against any opponent. Next on the list, the Mets, against whom Miami is 147-154 all-time. On the other end of the spectrum, the Marlins’ worst all-time winning percentage against an NL foe is their .388 mark against the Giants. Miami is just 57-90 all-time against San Francisco. While history indicates the Marlins might look forward to their visits to Washington and New York on this next road trip, they may dread their upcoming trip to San Francisco, just around the corner, May 1-3.
Through 4 games at Marlins Park, the Marlins have drawn 4 crowds in excess of 30,000. That matches the number of 30,000-plus crowds the Marlins drew ALL SEASON over 81 games at Sun Life in 2011.
Records by jersey color so far…Orange: 1-0, Black: 3-4, White: 0-2.
Marlins pitchers allowed 20 walks in the 3 games against Houston over the weekend; however, only 3 of the free passes came around to score. They’d walked a total of only 12 opposing hitters through the season’s first 7 games.
On the flip side, Marlins hitters drew 11 walks over the weekend against the Astros, including a season-high 6 on Sunday, after they’d coaxed only 10 walks in their first 7 games combined.
The Marlins are 3-0 when they homer and 1-6 when they do not.
Miami relief pitchers have stranded 9 of 11 inherited runners through the season’s first 10 games.
Carlos Zambrano has a pair of no-decisions despite leaving both of his first 2 starts on line for a victory. Zambrano’s been terrific after the first inning. He’s allowed 4 first-inning runs his first 2 times out for an 18.00 ERA in the first. He’s allowed just 1 run over the other 10 innings he’s worked for a 0.90 ERA after the first.
Omar Infante hit his 4th home run of 2012 in his 9th game and 31st at-bat Sunday against the Astros. A season ago, he hit #4 in his 129th game and 497th AB.
With 7 hits in his last 8 at-bats, Sunday’s hero Hanley Ramirez has his season average at .282. That’s higher than at any point in 2011, when he peaked at .256 on April 14 and was last at .250 on July 20 en route to a .243 finish.
Hanley’s gone deep twice in 10 games (39 at-bats) so far. A season ago, he didn’t hit his 2nd home run until his 34th game and AB #126.
Giancarlo Stanton’s yet to go deep through his first 9 games and 35 at-bats. It should, however, be noted that the slugger formerly known as Mike didn’t slug his first long ball until his 14th game and 38th at-bat en route to 34 homers in 2011.
Josh Johnson tonight faces the Cubs for the first time since August 15, 2008. He’s 0-1 with a 6.57 ERA in 3 games (2 starts) against Chicago all-time.
JJ has allowed 21 hits in 9.2 innings over his first 2 starts this season, with the opposition hitting .447. Last April, when he was 3-0 with a 0.88 ERA in 6 starts, Josh allowed only 18 hits in 41.0 innings for a .130 opponents’ average.
Of the 21 hits JJ has allowed, 19 have been singles. The only 2 extra-base hits he’s surrendered were both doubles.
Neither Carlos Zambrano nor Chris Volstad, who were traded for one another this winter, will pitch in this series. Zambrano had spent his entire career with the Cubs, while Volstad had always been a Marlin, drafted in the first round in 2005.
Miami is 2-0 in games started by opposing lefthanders (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ) and 2-6 in games started by opposing right-handers.
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS
With the Marlins returning home to begin their first Marlins Park homestand tonight against the Astros, it’s time to answer one of the questions I hear at the start of every year: What songs will different players “walk up to” this season?
Different players choose different songs for different reasons. Some like the sound. Some like the artist. Some like the message.
Some change their song seemingly every at-bat. Others will use the same song all season, and even year after year. (I’m reminded of former Red Sox back-up catcher Doug Mirabelli, who hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2007. He now sells real estate in Michigan, but I think every time he enters a room—to this day—you likely hear Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.”)
A couple of Marlins players shared interesting stories with me about their chosen songs.
When Heath Bell was in Triple-A with the Mets in 2002, his Norfolk Tides trainer Brian Chicklo suggested he enter games to “Blow Me Away” by Breaking Benjamin.
Bell loved the song, but said, “That’s a big league closer’s song.” He told Chicklo as soon as he became a major league closer, he’d break it out.
It took 7 years, but when Bell replaced the departed Trevor Hoffman as San Diego’s closer, he first entered to “Blow Me Away,” keeping his promise to his former trainer, who’s now an assistant trainer with the Mets.
“Hopefully he hears it a lot this year,” Bell told me.
Emilio Bonifacio will use a few different walk-up songs this season, but Boni’s primary song, which debuted Opening Night against the Cardinals, is an original composition.
Boni’s “Lo Viste?” (Did you see that?) caught on in the clubhouse last season. He passed out Lo Viste T-shirts to his teammates this spring and is now selling them online, complete with the official Lo Viste logo.
Prospecto y Respeto, a duo from Boni’s hometown in the Dominican Republic, wrote and recorded a “Lo Viste” song that mentions Boni, Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes. You can check out the video at
And you’ll hear it a lot at Marlins Park this season.
Here’s a list of the walk-up songs I’ve been able to collect so far with a special thanks to the Marlins Entertainment Department for their help in compiling much of this list:
Heath Bell: Blow Me Away (Breaking Benjamin)
Emilio Bonifacio: Lo Viste (an original by Prospecto y Respeto)
John Buck: 100% Cowboy (Jason Meadows)
Steve Cishek: Send Me/Represent (116 Clique)
Mike Dunn: Kiss it Goodbye (Nickelback)
Chad Gaudin: Red Rock (Smokin Armadillos)
Brett Hayes: Bangarang (Skrillex)
Logan Morrison: Everybody Get the F Up (Yelawolf)
Edward Mujica: Rescate (Alexis y Fido)
Hanley Ramirez: No Love (Lil’ Wayne” and El Duro (Don Omar)
Gaby Sanchez: Triumph (Pitbull)
Giancarlo Stanton: Lord Knows (Drake) and Look in My Eyes (Obie Trice)
Ryan Webb: Hysteria (Muse)
Carlos Zambrano: Enamorado de Ti (Rene Gonzalez)
If you could recommend a song that you feel is especially appropriate for any one player, what would it be?
For more on the Marlins, follow me on Twitter @GlennGeffner and friend me on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlennGeffner. To have new Fish Tales posts delivered directly to you via email, please “Follow” the blog above. And you can catch Marlins play-by-play on the radio all season long on 790 The Ticket and the Marlins Radio Network.
