If Los Angeles Angels fans were waiting for Josh Hamilton to hit rock bottom so he could start turning his season around, he may have done so on Tuesday night. At least, the team is hoping that turns out to be the case.
Hamilton, who signed a five-year, $125 million contract with LA this past offseason, has been horrendous in his first season with his new team. He is batting just .213 with 10 homers and only 24 RBI. It got worse on Tuesday.
Hamilton went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners, but he accounted for many more outs than just his own. He also left seven runners on base and tied the Angels’ franchise record by grounding into three double plays in a single game. As Eye on Baseball pointed out, Hamilton became only the second player since 1916 to go hitless, strike out twice, and ground into three double plays in a game.
Those aren’t exactly the types of records the Angels were hoping their new slugger would set. Leaving seven runners on base and grounding into three double plays is obviously abysmal, but it stings even more on a night where LA lost by only a run. The Angels are 31-40 and 11 games out of first in the AL West, and Hamilton’s inability to get anything going is a major reason why.
We don’t want to overreact, but if the 32-year-old can’t turn things around at some point in the near future his contract will become an absolute nightmare for the Angels.
