On Monday night, Mike Stanton belted not one, but two of his most impressive bombs of the 2011 season at home against Mike Minor and the Atlanta Braves.  While he hasn’t hit the 50 home runs that I had hoped for (he will next year), Stanton’s power has been every bit as advertised; of his 34 home runs, 26 have traveled over 400 feet.

According to ESPN Home Run Tracker (formerly Hit Tracker Online), Stanton has hit five balls over 450-feet, and 15 of his gargantuan blasts have been classified as “no-doubters.”  Thanks to MLB.com and their wise decision to allow the use of their videos, here are Stanton’s tape-measure shots from Monday night at Dolphins Stadium.

Perhaps it’s the astonishing lack of attendance and background noise, but the sound of Stanton striking the ball just sounds different than everyone else.

True Distance: 408 ft.

True Distance: 461 ft.

Top 1: Mike Stanton struck out swinging against Stephen Strasburg

Top 3: struck out swinging against Strasburg

Top 6: grounded out to shortstop against Strasburg

Top 9: struck out swinging against Drew Storen

Top 11: struck out swinging against Collin Balester

Top 13: doubled to left field against Balester

Final Line: 1-for-6, 2B, RBI, 4 K

Notes: Stanton’s golden sombrero on Saturday against the Washington Nationals was his second of the season.  Two of his four strikeouts came against Strasburg, who only struck out three over six innings.  With a chance for platinum in the 13^th inning, Stanton picked up his first hit of the game with a two-out, RBI-double that gave the Marlins a 4-1 lead.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 117

Since I have hardly any time to write today, I thought that I’d just let Mike Stanton’s bat do all the talking.  Here are two videos of the 21-year-old man-child going all sorts of yard at Citi Field against the New York Mets.

May 16, 2011 @ Citi Field
ESPN Home Run Tracker True Distance: 465 feet

August 30, 2011 @ Citi Field

ESPN Home Run Tracker True Distance: 361 feet

Bottom 2: Mike Stanton struck out swinging against Felix Hernandez

Bottom 4: Stanton struck out swinging against Hernandez

Bottom 6: Stanton struck out swinging against Hernandez

Bottom 9: Stanton struck out swinging against Brandon League

Final Line: 0-for-4, 4 K

Notes: This is just what tends to happen when you swing as hard as Mike Stanton and have to face Felix Hernandez.

Total 2011 Sombrero: 50 (wow)

Top 1: Kelly Johnson struck out swinging against Javier Vazquez

Top 3: Johnson called out on strikes against Vazquez

Top 4: Johnson hit a three-run double to center against Vazquez

Top 6: Johnson struck out swinging against Brian Sanches

Top 8: Johnson struck out swinging against Edward Mujica

Final Line: 1-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 K

Notes: Johnson’s golden sombrero on Saturday might have been platinum had he not mixed in a bases-clearing double against Javy Vazquez.  Still, the free-swinging second baseman—who had raised his average to .221 entering Monday—became the first Diamondbacks’ player to join the club.  Normally that would not have been the case, but the Mark Reynolds trade really opened the door.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 40