Billy Hamilton has some of the best wheels of any player in the history of baseball, but the young pup definitely has a lot to work on when it comes to his bat.
Thanks to a 3-for-5 game on Saturday, Hamilton is over the Mendoza Line for the first time all season. He’s now batting .214 with 3 strikeouts, 13 walks and a .540 OPS. After watching the at-bat he took against Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija on Friday, it’s no wonder why.
Hamilton led off the game and worked it to a full count. Clearly he was expecting some off speed on the next pitch, because when Samardzija threw a 91-mph fastball on the outer half, Hamilton could only wave at it with a last-ditch slap as the ball was already in the mitt.
Someone remind Hamilton that this is baseball, not softball, and that slap-hitting is not a preferred technique. And guessing off speed with a full count probably isn’t going to work out too well most of the time.
He’s definitely much better off making it into LBS for his baserunning highlights.
