MIAMI – Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton can add Sports Illustrated cover appearance to his list of growing accolades.
Stanton, who signed a 13-year, $325 million contract with the Marlins this offseason, is the first body-painted athlete to be featured on the March 2 cover of Sports Illustrated. He is also the first Marlins player to make the cover since former manager Ozzie Guillen and former shortstop Jose Reyes in 2012.
The cover appears to show Stanton wearing his Marlins home uniform. But the white and orange uniform is actually body paint.
Photographed as Stanton prepared for the opening of spring training, it took about 15 hours to prepare him for the cover shoot.
"It's great," Stanton said in a behind-the-scenes video posted on SI.com. "I love the whole experience, so I'm happy I did it and I can't wait to see (it) when it comes out in a few days."
Stanton led the National League in home runs (37), slugging percentage (.555) and total bases (299) in 2014. He finished runner-up in the National League Most Valuable Player balloting after his season was cut short when he was hit in the face by a wild pitch.
The 25-year-old two-time All-Star was selected by the Marlins in the second round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft and made his Major League Baseball debut in 2010. He was named to the NL All-Star team in 2012 and 2014.
He holds the team record for multiple home runs in a game (13) and is tied for the all-time team record for home runs (154).
Follow Local 10 Sports on Twitter @Local10Sports