PHILADELPHIA -- Giancarlo Stanton has been rewarded for his monster May by winning the National League Player of the Month award, becoming only the fourth Marlin ever to receive the monthly honor.
The 22-year-old outfielder for the Marlins hit .343, smashed 12 home runs and drove in 30 runs. Only Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio had as productive a month statistically at such a young age. Stanton's OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) was an off-the-charts 1.201.
"To be mentioned in the same category, or the same sentence as him, is eye-opening," Stanton said of DiMaggio.
With his 12 home runs, Stanton tied the club record for most homers in any month. Dan Uggla also hit 12 in May of 2008. He was three RBI short of Hanley Ramirez's club record 33 for any month. The dozen home runs tied the Rangers' Josh Hamilton for most in the majors last month.
"I didn't give away too many at bats that month, and when I did it was boom, forget about it," Stanton said. "So I thought I was very disciplined and smarter in key situations."
The only other Marlins to win the award were: Jeff Conine (June, 1995), Hanley Ramirez (June, 2008) and Emilio Bonifacio (July, 2011).
