In the Yankees’ 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, slugger Giancarlo Stanton reached a major milestone. Stanton hit his 21st home run of the season — and the 450th of his career — becoming just the 41st player in MLB history to reach that mark.
At 35, Stanton is likely to add to that total. If he reaches 500 career homers, he would become the 29th player in league history to do so, passing Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. Stanton is the current active leader in home runs, with Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout being the only other active player to have hit at least 400.
Over his 15-year career, Stanton has built an impressive résumé. Along with 450 home runs, he has 1,612 hits, 312 doubles, 801 walks, 1,159 RBIs and a 46.3 career WAR.
Stanton’s best season came in 2017 with the Miami Marlins, when he hit 59 homers, drove in 132 runs and led the majors in slugging percentage (.631) and OPS+ (169). He won National League MVP that year, edging Joey Votto by just two points. Paul Goldschmidt, now Stanton’s Yankees teammate, finished third in the voting.
In addition to his MVP award, Stanton has earned two Silver Sluggers, five All-Star selections, an All-Star Game MVP, an ALCS MVP and a Home Run Derby title.
One accomplishment still missing from his career is a World Series championship. After falling short last season against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Stanton and the Yankees will look to end their title drought dating back to 2009 this postseason.