Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton, formerly known as Mike Stanton, is an American professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2010 as a member of the then-Florida Marlins, with whom he played until the end of the 2017 season. Stanton has twice led the National League (NL) in home runs; he hit 59 home runs in 2017, the most in 16 years.
Known for his prodigious physical strength and ability to regularly hit long home runs, Stanton stands 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall and weighs 245 pounds (111 kg). He bats and throws right-handed.Stanton is originally from the Greater Los Angeles region. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, before the Marlins selected him in the second round of the 2007 MLB draft. In 2017, Stanton led MLB in home runs (59), runs batted in (RBIs) (132), and slugging percentage (.631), winning the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. A five-time MLB All-Star, Stanton has twice won both the NL Hank Aaron Award and outfield Silver Slugger Award after leading the league in home runs.
In November 2014, the Marlins signed Stanton to the richest total dollar value contract in team sports history at the time of the signing; the contract is worth $325 million over 13 years. Following the 2017 season, Stanton was traded to the New York Yankees.
