28th of May 2015
Once seen as an inspiration all around baseball, Josh Hamilton has come upon a rough last few years. Nagged by injuries, bad performances and a relapse this past off season, the public view of Hamilton is often a negative one now. When people think of Hamilton they think of someone who has had too many struggles on the field as well as off. The Angels organization did not help this perception as Arte Moreno often uttered remarks such as "I will not say that," when asked if Hamilton would ever play with the Angels again. Moreno, in desperation to get him off of the Angel's roster, would eat up $68 million of Hamilton's contract to ship him over to Texas where he had his best years including his AL MVP season in 2010. This move allows Hamilton to play with no pressure and really take a step back to get back on track. He is around a great group of guys in the Rangers' clubhouse and will be with a fan base that will gladly take him back in. We all want Hamilton to get back to his potential on the field, but first and foremost, we want him to get his life together and on track so that he can be well off off of the field. Hamilton performed well in the minors, batting .364 with 1 home run and a slugging percentage of .545. Hopefully this is a sign that his power is back, and based on the reports it sounds like his plate discipline is also more selective than it was. Any production from Hamilton would be welcomed from the Rangers, and hopefully he gets back to being a presence so that he can protect Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre in the Rangers' lineup. If he can manage to hit for an average around .270 with 15 home runs and drive in 50-70 RBIs, I think we would all be happy.
So tonight when Hamilton steps into the box for the first time as a Ranger at home since the 2012 AL Wild Card Game, hopefully he receives a big ovation, showing him that Ranger fans, as well as baseball fans, are behind him and will support him no matter what.
No comments:
Post a Comment