It wasn't at all surprising to see Giancarlo Stanton break out of his early season batting slump in Miami's 8-2 win over Atlanta on Tuesday. However, he did do something that was a little unexpected.
For the first time since being hit in the face with a fastball last September, Stanton went to the plate in a major league game without the protective face mask he's been wearing since the start of spring training. He had it attached to his helmet for his first four plate appearances but when he emerged for his final trip to the batter's box in the ninth inning, the guard was conspicuously absent.