Team USA held its first official workout on Monday in preparation for the World Baseball Classic, and Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton reportedly stole the show. The 23-year-old Stanton is one of the MLB’s brightest young stars. Comments from some of his Team USA teammates, who happen to be some of the game’s best players, reminded us of that.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mark Teixeira said when asked about Stanton’s batting practice session, via Eye on Baseball. “I’ve played with a lot of guys headed for the Hall of Fame, but I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Stanton reportedly sent towering home runs into the parking lot behind the Arizona Diamondbacks’ spring training facility. The cars were parked well beyond the fence, but the slugger came close to hitting them.
“I think I was OK because my car is in Tampa,” Teixeira said. “Although, with the right wind, he still might be able to hit it.”
Jimmy Rollins was also amazed by the power Stanton displayed.
Jimmy Rollins to Giancarlo Stanton:”You cannot be real. You cannot be human.” Stanton heard it all day at the USA workout.
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) March 5, 2013
It’s one thing for the fans and media to talk about how incredible Stanton is, but these are MLB All-Stars who you would think are used to seeing balls fly out of the park. Apparently Stanton stands above all the rest, which isn’t exactly a surprise given his 37 home runs and .608 slugging percentage last year. What is a surprise is that he is only 23, meaning he could be one of the game’s elite players for well over a decade. The Marlins may be listening to offers for Stanton, but they might as well enjoy him while they can. It seems inevitable that he’s going to price his way out of Miami.
Photo credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE
