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Giancarlo Stanton gets in on homer-robbing craze with incredible catch

This must be the week of the home run robbery around Major League Baseball.

After Austin Jackson of the Indians literally went over the wall to rob a home run in Boston and Starling Marte nearly did the same in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins added to the reel of robberies with a ridiculous game-ending catch Wednesday night in Miami.

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After a long run, Stanton was able to reach high above the high-standing right-field fence at Marlins Park to bring back a sure home run off the bat of Nationals outfielder Brian Goodwin.

It’s a play so nice, it deserves another look.

In a normal week, Stanton’s catch may have been the best of the bunch. As we’ve established, this has been far from a normal week, but the catch still stands out because of the effort and the outcome.

Even the Nationals had to acknowledge how superb the play was.

The catch capped a rough night for them offensively. They were shutout 7-0 and managed just four hits against Marlins hurlers Vance Worley and Odrisamer Despaigne. It’s the fourth time Washington has been shut out since July 1, which lead the entire league.

We’re so used to watching Stanton hit home runs — he leads the National League with 33 homers this season — that we often forget how athletic he is in the field.

Marcell Ozuna (left) and Christian Yelich (center) celebrate with Giancarlo Stanton following his game-ending and home run-saving catch. (AP)
Marcell Ozuna (left) and Christian Yelich (center) celebrate with Giancarlo Stanton following his game-ending and home run-saving catch. (AP)

That athleticism doesn’t always translate to success. In fact, earlier this season he had a home run robbery go right off his glove in Milwaukee. But he’s made enough highlight reel plays defensively that we should probably talk about that part of his game more often. Perhaps this is a good starting point.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!