Josh Hamilton

How about the Texas offense? Ian Kinsler (9 RBIs), Josh Hamilton (8), Nelson Cruz (8), Bengie Molina (7), and Michael Young (7) are the top five run producers in the American League playoffs, while only Cody Ross (8) has driven in more than five runs in the NL.  Additionally, leadoff man Elvis Andrus has hit .333 with seven stolen bases, while Cruz has hit .375 and slugged his fifth home run of the playoffs tonight, giving him an edge over teammate Hamilton and Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano, both of whom have hit four.  (Over in the Senior Circuit, Ross also has four but no one else has more than two.)

Continue reading "Longer series are good for ball"

he majors (Miguel Cabrera has 120), and his .622 slugging percentage is ahead of everyone not named Josh Hamilton (.635).  The Dominican slugger had never hit more than 16 homers in a season before 2010, but has set the single-season home run record for a Blue Jays player.  Though many believed his early-season success to be a fluke, Bautista has more closely resembled a guy taking advantage of the chance to play every day.  Fluke or break-out year, Bautista has established career highs in nearly every offensive category and will garner serious MVP consideration.

Continue reading "Hard work pays off for career minor leaguers"

How ‘bout that?

How about Josh Hamilton?  After hitting just .265 in April and .294 in May and combining for nine home runs and 27 RBIs in the first two months of the season, Hamilton caught fire in June.  His numbers for the month included a .454 average, nine homers, 31 Runs Batted In, and an absurd slugging percentage of .815 – not to mention the 23-game hitting streak he carried into July.  If he continues to hit this well, Hamilton has a real chance at winning the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

Continue reading "Who's on first at the Midsummer Classic?"

 Now they have neither for five games.

Josh Hamilton’s relapse: A man’s personal struggle with alcohol is his business, but when a recovering alcoholic is a role model for young people, he needs to take responsibility for his actions before the public finds out from someone else.  In this case, Hamilton should have made a statement prior to the release of the photos taken at the bar this past January.

Continue reading "Poor behavior on and off the field is Bad for Ball"

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.

Continue reading "Triple Crowns"

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"

It is truly great to see Texas’s Josh Hamilton put up such impressive numbers (.335, 12 HR, 53 RBI, and .614 Slugging) over the first eight weeks of the season.  Hamilton, a longtime prospect for Tampa Bay whose drug addiction kept him from making his major league debut until last year with Cincinnati, seems to have overcome the greatest challenge of his life.  Taking a page out of mlb.com’s Mychael Urban, Hamilton’s success is Good For Ball.

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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"