Stanton Ends 2017 1 Long Ball Short

MIAMI, FL — Giancarlo Stanton ended the 2017 season one long ball shy of baseball history on Sunday afternoon but received a standing ovation from appreciative Marlins fans after failing to get his 60th home run against the Atlanta Braves. Stanton was vying to become only the sixth player to reach the sport's holy grail since the Great Bambino first did so in 1927. In addition to Babe Ruth, the 27-year-old would have joined the likes of Roger Maris, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

The Braves won the game by a score of 8-5 but Sunday was all about Stanton.

"It was tough not to think about but at the same time, if I hit 60, then you guys would be sitting here saying 'why didn't I hit 61?' Sixty-one, 'why didn't I hit 62?' I'm fine with the way my season went," Stanton told reporters after the game, adding that he enjoyed the fan interest. "It was fun with the crowd. The crowd didn't influence my personal feeling of it. I was thinking about it a lot, but I had okay at bats. I swung at pitches that I shouldn't have and kind of out of the ordinary. But it's alright."

Stanton struck out at the bottom of the ninth with the Marlins trailing on his fifth trip to the plate. The Marlins slugger went 1-5 on Saturday and failed to homer in games two, three and four of the four-game match-up at Marlins Park. Sunday was also the last game of the 2017 season for the club and Stanton's final chance to enter baseball's elusive 60-plus club. Marlins manager Don Mattingly placed Stanton in the leadoff spot in Sunday's lineup to give him the most possible chances to reach the milestone.

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Stanton struck out in his first trip to the plate on Sunday but left little doubt with his powerful swing that he was aiming for the stands. Number 27 banged a single to right on his second time at bat on a 3-0 pitch as crowds gathered in the outfield stands for a chance to catch the special baseball. The single was later measured at 122.2 mph, the hardest ball ever struck in the Statcast era. Stanton slammed another single in the bottom of the fifth on a 1-2 pitch, this time driving in a run and assuring his place as baseball's RBI king for the 2017 season with 132. He chased a 3-2 low pitch to ground out in the bottom of the seventh bringing up what was to be a do-or-die final at bat to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning.

Facing the Braves Arodys Vizcaino in the ninth, Stanton fouled back the first two pitches to fall behind 0-2 in the count. The third pitch brought a checked-swing foul ball. Having thrown three straight fastballs, Vizcaino went with a breaking pitch that brought an end to Stanton's amazing season on a swinging strike. The rightfielder received a standing ovation as he entered the dugout to hugs from his teammates only to be again summoned back to the field by fans.

Stanton hit his 58th and 59th home runs during Thursday's game against the braves, setting up Sunday's climactic season finish in an otherwise non-consequential game. After Thursday's double blast, the Marlins tweeted: "The watch for No. 60 is officially ON. Two homers for @Giancarlo818 tonight. 59 on the season. WOW." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.) Following Sunday's game, the team tweeted "we couldn't be more proud. #MVP" and posted video of Stanton's ovation from the crowd.

Ruth was playing for the New York Yankees when he had his one and only 60-run season. Next came Maris, another Yankee, with 61 in 1961. Sosa hit 66 in 1998 for the Chicago Cubs while McGwire hit 70 that same season for the St. Louis Cardinals. Both men did it again in 1999 with Sosa hitting 63 and McGwire hitting 65. Sosa hit 64 in 2001 but Bonds hit 74 that same year.

Stanton broke the single-season Marlins home run record in August when he let loose his 43rd of the year on a first-inning fastball over the left field wall of Marlins Park. Stanton's 12 homes runs in July led Major League Baseball and put him in position to make a run for a 60 home run season.

"Stanton homered in six consecutive games from August 10-15, the longest streak in Marlins’ history and tied for the third-longest in MLB history," the Marlins' Jon Alvarez told Patch. "The night before his streak ended, Stanton hit his 43rd home run of the year, breaking Gary Sheffield’s Marlins’ single-season mark of 42 set in 1996. Overall, he hit 18 long balls in August, which is tied with Rudy York (in) 1937 for the MLB record for the month."

Watch video compilation of some of Stanton's 2017 home runs:

Video courtesy Major League Baseball and the Miami Marlins. Giancarlo Stanton #27 of the Miami Marlins reacts to fans on the dugout steps after striking out in the ninth inning during play against the Atlanta Braves, ending his bid for 60 home runs for the season at Marlins Park on Oct. 1, 2017 in Miami. (Photo by Joe Skipper/Getty Images)