Miami Marlins superstar Giancarlo Stanton does not want everyone going around saying a 51-year-old dude beat him in a home run contest.
On Wednesday, SiriusXM Radio’s Craig Mish claimed he witnessed Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds get the best of Stanton and several other players in a long ball competition. Stanton told TMZ on Thursday that it didn’t go down quite like that.
“False!!! He was hitting homers with us but wasn’t a home run derby,” Stanton said. “He was on my team for hitting drills. He is still a beast. But no home run derby vs. me. Media is wrong.
“The story is we were hitting extra batting practice on the back fields off a curveball machine. Getting work in — five of us. Last round we split into groups to face each other in a situational hitting competition with imaginary runners on base and the losing team picks up the balls. Not home run derby.”
Stanton said Bonds was added to the drill to make it an even 3-on-3 and that he was on Giancarlo’s team. He insists the media just tried to “blow it up” since Stanton was involved. Mish maintains that he heard differently:
Barry Bonds hit 4 BP Home Runs including a walk off to end it. Asked coach directly did Bonds win that ? His answer – YES. #witness
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) March 17, 2016
When you see some of the recent photos of Bonds, you’ll find it hard to believe that he could beat the freakishly strong Stanton in a home run contest. Still, Stanton could have done the old guy a favor by letting him have the spotlight.
