Why did Giancarlo Stanton change his name? All about Yankees star formerly known as Mike

New York Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton is known for having one of the most unique names in baseball. However, he wasn't always known for this memorable moniker.

Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton was born in California in 1989. As a youth, Stanton excelled at baseball, basketball and football. Upon his graduation, he was offered scholarships at UCLA for football and Tulane University for baseball, and he chose the latter.

Stanton's father, Mike, chose his son's second middle name based on his own. As a child, young Giancarlo grew tired of the ridicule and mispronunciations associated with his name. As a result, he began using the simpler and more conventional "Mike."

Under the name Mike Stanton, he was drafted by the Florida Marlins 76th overall in the 2007 MLB Draft. He made his debut for the Marlins during the 2010 season, hitting 22 home runs and 59 RBIs.

"#80 Mike Stanton. #Marlins" - @ Marlins Historian

As the Florida Marlins rebranded as the Miami Marlins during the 2011-2012 offseason, Stanton took a holiday in Europe. While in the Mediterranean region, Stanton came into contact with those who had names similar to his birth name.

Upon his return to the United States, Stanton began using Giancarlo as a first name instead of Mike. That year, he hit 37 home runs and 86 RBIs as well as led the league in slugging percentage. Giancarlo Stanton was also named to his first career All-Star team that year.

Stanton soon solidified himself as one of the best players in the Marlins' franchise history. In 2014, he signed a massive 13-year deal worth $325 million. In 2015, Giancarlo Stanton set the franchise home-run record and was named the NL MVP in 2017 after leading the league in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.

"“That’s not Giancarlo Stanton. That’s Mike right there.” - Aaron Judge" - @ Bryan Hoch

Despite the massive contract that the Marlins committed him to, they shipped Stanton to the New York Yankees in December 2017. Starting in 2026, the Marlins will begin paying the Yankees $10 million per year to offset the end of their contract.

Giancarlo Stanton is fortunate that his success came after his name change

It seems that Giancarlo Stanton only began to heat up after he changed his name. Luckily, he did not achieve wide fame using the name Mike, so the name change was not too difficult. In 2023, he will combine with stars like Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo to form the keystone of the Yankees' batting order.