Giancarlo Stanton dented a TV camera with his 53rd home run of the season
Joe Skipper/Getty
Giancarlo Stanton hit his 53rd home run of the season on Monday night, continuing a torrid pace that places him among baseball's great power hitters.
The home run, Stanton's 20th in his last 31 games, came in the fifth inning against A.J. Cole of the Washington Nationals. The slugging right fielder hit a deep drive to right field, putting the Miami Marlins within one run of their opponents.
The home run was impressive by itself, but a closer look at the video reveals yet another testament to Stanton's prodigious power. As the ball descended towards the foul pole, it collided with a TV camera beyond the fence, creating a nasty dent.
Take a look at the damage:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/904872258996506624
This is the camera that Giancarlo Stanton busted with his 53rd HR. pic.twitter.com/WR38YkIXcA
While the camera itself was still operational, the impact of the home run resulted in a broken lens. The lens was replaced by members of the Fox Sports Florida camera crew.
"I didn't know what was going to happen," said the cameraman, who came within inches of being hit. "I just wanted it to be in focus when it got there."
Stanton's blast was the clear highlight of the game, even though the Marlins went on to lose 7-2.
But while the home run left physical evidence of Stanton's power, it wasn't even close to his longest of the year. At just 357 feet, 50 of Stanton's 52 other home runs have been longer.
Stanton's total puts him within eight home runs of Roger Maris' single-season mark of 61, set in 1961. Maris' record has been broken several times, but never outside of the four-season stretch between 1998 and 2001, when many of the game's prolific power hitters were connected with performance-enhancing drugs. Earlier this season, Stanton said he considers Maris' figure to be the true record.
The Marlins' next game is set for Tuesday, when Stanton will face one of his chief rivals: Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals. The two have faced each other seven times this season, with Stanton collecting just one hit.
NOW WATCH: Mayweather vs. McGregor: Here's how the world's best fighters match up