Biggest Takeaways from Giancarlo Stanton's Press Conference with Marlins

The Miami Marlins held a press conference to officially announce the monster contract extension handed to Giancarlo Stanton. The new deal will pay the outfielder a record-setting $325 million over the next 13 years.

Joe Frisaro of MLB.com confirmed the contract details ahead of the media gathering. It included comments from team owner Jeffrey Loria, who said the reason they feel comfortable making such a large commitment goes beyond the production on the field.   

"The importance of this is, it's great for this franchise and the city," Loria said. "Besides being a terrific athlete, he's a first-class young man. I've loved watching him play, but I love this kid. He's just a special young man."

At the press conference, Stanton made it clear in his opening comments that he's confident the Marlins are going to build a winning environment around him, as Jayson Stark of ESPN noted:

It's an important note because the Marlins have failed to create a consistent contender over the years. They won the World Series in 1997 and 2003 but didn't make moves to follow up on that success. They won just 54 games in 1998 and haven't made the playoffs since the last title.

Giving such a large contract to an exciting player about to entire his prime seasons is a positive step. But Miami must prove in the years ahead it's willing to make a commitment to put the other necessary pieces in place to reach the postseason and beyond.

Loria was asked about the decision to tear the roster down a couple years ago. The team had made several high-profile moves in 2012 ahead of a move to its new stadium, including Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, but quickly abandoned the plan after the season.

Will Manso of WPLG pointed out the owner still feels it was the right decision:

The fanbase may hold another opinion.

Stanton talked about the size of the contract, specifically about whether he was "embarrassed" to make more on a daily basis for the duration of the contract than an average American makes in a year. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provided the response:

The outfielder, who tied his career high with 37 home runs last season, went on to explain a lot of hard work went into earning the extension.

He also said there's a lot of pressure and expectation that comes with the new deal. Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun Sentinel passed along further remarks from Stanton on the subject:

Still, Prim Siripipat of ESPN is one of many who still can't get their head around the mind-boggling numbers involved:

The issue on money remained a focal point, so Stanton tried to explain the commitment involved due to the length of the contract, via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press:

He can expect the questions about money to flow in pretty consistently over the next decade.

One thing he also wanted to make clear was his love for the city of Miami. He noted that as one of the key factors in deciding to agree on the extension, which the Marlins noted:

But in the end, he wants to win, as the official MLB account highlighted:

Ultimately, if Stanton continues to produce elite power numbers, the Marlins win a lot of games and bring a couple championships to Miami, the focus on the contract will fade. If that doesn't happen, it's going to become a major distraction.

The deal certainly comes with no shortage of risk for the Marlins. That said, it's clear they feel confident betting on not only Giancarlo Stanton the athlete, but also Giancarlo Stanton the individual.