Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest ball ever recorded

The good news for Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton is that he tattooed a Phil Hughes offering in the eighth inning of the Marlins-Twins game Thursday night, sending the ball back at 123.9 miles-per-hour.

Unfortunately Hughes induced a grounder, but it stands as the hardest-hit ball that MLB's Statcast has ever recorded since its inception two years ago.

But Stanton can crush the ball for bunches of hits and homers when he's locked in, as he did last May when he recorded this 120.3 mph single -- the previous record for the hardest-hit ball.