Josh Hamilton

licit that chill of excitement in me anymore.
Gladly, I felt it again the other night watching Josh Hamilton belt 28 balls out of the park in The House That Ruth Built. 
You're probably familiar with the story: Hamilton is drafted number one as a rising star, then loses control of his addictions and ends up losing three years of his career to a suspension.  Coming back, he shows his potential is still there, but has his partial season hampered by injury.  Then, this season, he suddenly emerges as an All Star, and gets his invite to the game and the Home Run Derby that precedes it.  No, he doesn't win the derby.  But, in the first round, he DESTROYS his competition, bringing the crowd to its feet, chanting his name as he pounds out 16 in a row, 28 in all before he's done.  As far as the fans were concerned,

Continue reading "Chills and Goosebumps are Back in Baseball!"

But the night was stolen by Texas Ranger Outfielder Josh Hamilton. Even though he did not go on to actually win the title, Justin Morneau ended up winning just as he undeserving won the MVP award two years ago, Hamilton was the real winner. He displayed the talents that made him the # 1 overall pick and showed that he had overcome all his personal demons. He nearly hit one out of the Stadium and consistently was hitting balls to areas that I do not think have ever been touched. He was even hitting them to my seats in Section 35 that I never thought was possible. (I was in the Leftfield Bleachers tonight and never had a shot at any of his balls.) He even showed why he is The Natural, after being asked to try hitting one out to leftfield he does it right on cue. It was amazing. As my friend Jon texted me "that has to be the most amazing hitting display ever." Who can argue with that, to hit 28 homerun's in one round of a homerun derby in Yankee Stadium is unbelievable. He had the Stadium buzzing. Really they should have ended the night there and everyone would have been happy with what they had seen. It was truly amazing to say that I witnessed such an impressive display of hitting prowess.

Continue reading "What a First Night- The Natural Steals the Show"

is younger, a better defender and having a season that's as good as, if not better, than Manny's). Josh Hamilton (with superior offensive numbers) is in center, over the better defender (Grady Sizemore, with only slightly inferior offensive numbers). Jeter’s the starter at short, in spite of being as poor a defender as ever, with Mike Young (better on both sides of the ball) on the bench. Would you take Kevin Youlikis at first over Justin Morneau? Perhaps, or perhaps not—but Terry Francona must, because The Fans Said So.

Continue reading "Gimme A Break!"

hipper, is prone to nagging injuries of late, so it's possible that he might not make it, either.

Josh Hamilton of the Rangers got all the talk going with his strong start to the season, when he shot out of the gate with a .330 average with 6 homers and 32 RBIs. He continued to hit for power, and currently leads the league in homers and RBIs, but his batting average has tapered off to a relatively tepid .315. Even his 17 homers are barely outpacing Carlos Quentin. Hamilton is currently complaining about a virus, so it's possible his decrease in production may be temporary, or it may be a case of statistics reverting to the norms.

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n anemic AL West.

Their reasons for being even this good, of course, is their offense, especially Josh Hamilton, about whom much exuberant ink has been spilled, but their team hitting (.285/.354/.464, which ranks #1/#2/#1 in the AL and #2/#4/#1 in MLB, respectively) is not the problem, nor has it ever been. 

Continue reading "Texas Rangers Show Some Character"

The Rangers will pin these hopes on Josh Hamilton and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Hamilton had a spectacular comeback year last year for the Reds hitting 19 home runs in only 300 at bats. It’s

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: American League West"