The Dallas Morning News
10:36 PM CDT on Thursday, May 29, 2008
OAKLAND, CA - MAY 04: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers looks on against the Oakland Athletics on May 4, 2008 at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Ian Kinsler is ready to take issue with the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.
The cover shows that now-familiar follow-through of the sweet left-handed swing of the Rangers center fielder. Above him the words: "The Unbelievable Josh Hamilton."
"I don't know if it's unbelievable," Kinsler said. "He is what I expected. What I saw in Arizona in the spring, that's what was unbelievable."
Here's what Kinsler saw.
Hamilton, a left-handed hitter, was stroking drive after drive to left field deeper than anything Kinsler, a right-handed hitter, was able to.
"I thought, 'What's the deal with this guy? He hits the ball to the opposite field harder than I can pull it there?' So after that, I haven't really been surprised by anything that he has done."
What Kinsler saw was the awesome power of the one-time No. 1 overall pick in the June draft whose drug abuse and personal decline kept him out of baseball for 3 ½ seasons. It was just July, 2006 that Hamilton was allowed to return to the minor leagues.
He played in all of 15 games that summer.
Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton points toward the Tampa Bay Rays dugout before batting during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 26, 2008 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Hamilton, the 1999 number one draft pick overall by the Rays, was playing his first game ever at Tropicana Field.
(AP Photo/Steve Nesius)
Last year with Cincinnati, injuries limited Hamilton to 90 games, but he showed signs of the power that had made him Tampa Bay's first pick in the 1999 draft. Among rookies, his .554 slugging percentage was second to Milwaukee's Ryan Braun.
In the first third of this season, Hamilton was nothing short of the best player in the majors.
His 13 homers are second to Chicago's Carlos Quentin (14) among American League players. His .324 batting average has him six points behind the Yankees' Hideki Matsui (.330), the AL leader. And he is the major leagues' runaway RBIs leader with 58.
A triple crown?
No one has done it since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Hamilton probably will have the hardest time staying around the top in batting average. But the home runs and RBIs should just keep coming.
"Tools wise, he is the best player I have ever seen," Kinsler said. "Here's the thing about Josh. He was out of the game three years, almost four, and his baseball instincts are great. I've seen him put his head down and run after balls in center field. You can't do that without having a great feel for the game."
Hamilton's middle-of-the-lineup heroics came to the Rangers at a steep price. General manager Jon Daniels traded the team's top pitching prospect, Edinson Volquez, to get him.
In fairness, Volquez could just as easily be on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week if he had as compelling an off-the-field tale as Hamilton. Volquez is 7-2 for the Reds and his 1.31 earned run average is the best among starting pitchers in the majors.
Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton hits a grand slam in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, in St. Petersburg, Fla.
(AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
But it was a good trade because I would always trade a potentially good pitcher for a more proven (even if it was just a half-season in Cincinnati) hitter.
Pitchers, as valuable as they are and as much as we all know the Rangers need them, are simply too hard to predict.
It would be great if Volquez were still in Arlington. But Hamilton has been otherworldly and should only get better.
The Rangers open a 10-game homestand against Oakland tonight. In the American League, only Chicago has played fewer home games than Texas. And the weather is just starting to heat up.
That's when the balls really start carrying in that jet stream to right-center. And that's where Hamilton loves to launch the ball.
"We haven't really been home that much," Kinsler said. "Wait until it heats up. Wait until you see what Josh does then."
Maybe that will qualify as ... unbelievable.
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