Tag Archives: billy hamilton

23 Aug

den of thieves

Jake Mangum notched his 20th stolen base of the season on Friday, a significant milestone for the MLB rookie out of Mississippi State. He’ll surely get more before the Tampa Bay Rays’ season ends. One of the fastest players in the 2019 MLB draft, Flowood native Mangum ripped off 81 bags in his six minor league seasons. For the record, the record for steals in a season by a Mississippi native is 59, set by — no surprise here — Billy Hamilton. The state’s career steals leader, Hamilton also stole 58, 57 and 56 in different seasons but, oddly enough, never won a league stolen base crown. The only Mississippian to do that was Sam Jethroe, a Columbus native who led the National League with 35 — as a rookie — in 1950 and again in 1951 while with the Boston Braves. He was rookie of the year in 1950. According to baseball-reference.com, Starkville’s Cool Papa Bell stole 49 bases in a season (1929) in the Negro Leagues and also had a 36-steal campaign. Jarrod Dyson’s MLB-best was 36; the McComb product also had 34 one year and had three 30-steal seasons. Gee Walker, from Gulfport, was the career steals leader among Mississippians before Hamilton and Dyson blew by him; he topped out at 30 in a single season, back in 1932. In the minor leagues, Konnor Griffin has 60 steals this season, having played in three different leagues. Now the No. 1 prospect in the minors, the Jackson native was regarded as the fastest prep player in the 2024 draft. Batesville native Emaarion Boyd has 46 steals over two levels this year and swiped 56 in 2023. The record for a Mississippian in the minors? Hamilton, again. The Taylorsville product set the all-time minor league mark with 155 playing at two levels in 2012.

13 May

take it on the run

While no one is conjuring up images of Billy Hamilton circa 2012, speed is still a tool that many Magnolia State products bring to the game. To wit: Seven different Mississippians in the minors rank among the stolen base leaders in their respective leagues. Emaarion Boyd, former South Panola High star, is tied for second in the High-Class A Midwest League with 15 bags for Beloit in the Miami system. Boyd, hitting just .225 this year, has 106 steals all told in 222 pro games. Konnor Griffin and Dakota Jordan, both former Gatorade players of the year in the state and 2024 draftees, have 13 steals apiece, both playing in Low-A ball. Patrick Lee, a well-traveled former William Carey University standout from Pascagoula, has 11 steals in Low-A ball this year and 46 in two minor league seasons. In the Double-A Southern League, Cooper Pratt — another Gatorade POY out of Magnolia Heights — and Southern Miss alum Matthew Etzel are tied for fifth in the league with 10 steals each. Ex-Ole Miss star and Decatur native Kemp Alderman, also in the SL, has eight steals. Braden Montgomery, still another Gatorade POY from Madison Central, has swiped seven bases over two levels of A-ball, already surpassing his college season-high. In the big leagues, the leading Mississippian is Jake Mangum, the former Jackson Prep and Mississippi State star — on the injured list since April 24 — who has eight steals for Miami. Mangum totaled 81 steals over five minor league campaigns. The standard for all base stealers in the minors was set by Hamilton, the ex-big leaguer out of Taylorsville High. He nabbed 155 bags in 2012 in the Cincinnati system, a record that’ll never be broken. He stole 326 bases in his MLB career and is still out there performing thievery at age 34, with seven steals in 10 games in the Mexican League.

29 Jan

winter warriors

The Charros de Jalisco, with Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton batting leadoff and playing center field, won the Mexican Pacific League championship on Tuesday night and advanced to the Caribbean Series. The MPL champs will play Friday (10 p.m., MLB Network) against the champion of the Puerto Rican Winter League — Indios de Mayaguez — in Mexicali, Mexico. Hamilton, a longtime major leaguer with 326 career stolen bases, batted .246 with a league-best 38 steals and 49 runs in 64 games for Jalisco this season. He hit .243 in the MPL postseason, scoring 12 runs and swiping six more bags. The 34-year-old Hamilton last played in the big leagues in 2023 (three games with the Chicago White Sox). Former Mississippi Braves and big league star Julio Teheran pitched for Jalisco this season. … Incidentally, the dramatic home run by Junior Caminero that won the Dominican Winter League title on Monday night — and became a viral sensation — was hit off former M-Braves closer Jairo Asencio. Asencio played under the name Luis Valdez in 2008, when he saved 28 games for the Southern League champion M-Braves. Caminero’s Leones de Escogido team plays Venezuela on Friday (3:30, MLBN) in Mexicali. … The Venezuelan Winter League champ is the Cardenales de Lara. Former M-Braves Gorkys Hernandez — who spent parts of six years in the big leagues — and Hendrik Clementina played for Lara this season. Rosters for the Caribbean Series have not been announced. P.S. Regi Grace, former Madison Central High standout, has signed with Washington of the independent Frontier League. Grace put up a 3.94 ERA in 133 career games over six seasons in the Minnesota system, working at the Double-A level in 2024.

24 Oct

running on

Like the mechanical rabbit in those Energizer battery commercials, Billy Hamilton keeps on going and going … . The former Taylorsville High standout, now 33, is playing for Jalisco in the Mexican Pacific League — a winter league — and at last look was batting .342 with six steals and eight runs in 10 games. He now has 806 stolen bases in a pro career that dates to 2013. Hamilton played the last of his 951 MLB games with the Chicago White Sox in 2023, making just three appearances. He did not get an opportunity in the big leagues in 2024 but played in the regular Mexican League, stealing 37 bases while batting .256 in 63 games with Jalisco and Tabasco. With 326 steals (while playing for eight different teams) in MLB, Hamilton is the all-time leader among Mississippi natives. His 155 bags in 2012 remains a minor league record. … Also playing in the MPL are ex-Harrison Central star Bobby Bradley and Petal High product Anthony Alford, both ex-big leaguers who also played in the country’s summer league in 2024. Bradley is batting .167 for Monterrey, Alford .115 (with a homer) for Obregon.

03 Sep

ready, set, go …

Everybody in the Cincinnati ballpark knew what was coming. On Sept. 3, 2013, Billy Hamilton was inserted into a major league game for the first time, as a pinch runner in the seventh inning of a scoreless game between the host Reds and St. Louis. The former Taylorsville High star, who had swiped 395 bases in five minor league seasons to that point, promptly stole second — against Cardinals All-Star/Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina, no less. Todd Frazier then doubled, and Hamilton cruised home with what would be the game’s only run. That stolen base was the first of 326 big league steals by Hamilton, the all-time leader among Mississippi natives. The run was the first of 454 he would score in 951 MLB games in a career that ended in 2023. He was also a tremendous defensive center fielder. Hamilton got national attention when he stole a record 155 bases in the minors in 2012. His games were like a track meet: 410 steals in 572 minor league contests. In his first four full big league seasons (2014-17), he swiped 56, 57, 58 and 59. In 2018, his last season with Cincinnati, he got 34 bags. That was the last year he played regularly as he bounced from team to team, playing for seven all told from 2019-23. He played his last game on May 4 of last year for the Chicago White Sox. And yes, he did steal a base. Listed at 6 feet, 160 pounds in his prime, Hamilton hit just .239 (.292 on-base percentage) over his 11-year career. One can only wonder what kind of numbers “Bone” would have put up if he could only have gotten on base more often. Second on Mississippi’s all-time steals list is Cool Papa Bell, credited with 285 in his Negro Leagues career. Jarrod Dyson is third with 266, Gee Walker fourth with 223. Even with new rules now that favor base-stealing, it’s hard to imagine anyone topping Hamilton’s 326.

23 Aug

playing the numbers

Billy Hamilton, the former Taylorsville High standout, has piled up a lot of numbers in his major league career — and it seems highly uncertain that he’ll be adding to the totals. The skinny outfielder, just released from Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox, has played in 951 games and gotten 2,988 at-bats over an 11-year MLB career. Originally drafted by Cincinnati, he has played for eight different big league clubs, five in the last three years. He has just 22 MLB at-bats the last two years and only one hit; his career average sits at .239. But his 326 stolen bases are the most ever by Mississippi native, and he has scored 454 runs. And there are a couple of other numbers that might entice a big league team to bring Hamilton aboard when rosters expand from 26 to 28 in September. Though he has never won a Gold Glove, Hamilton has 73 defensive runs saved and 58 outs above average as a center fielder, both very good numbers according to MLB Trade Rumors. His career highlight reel is impressive. He has spent a good chunk of this season on the injured list, most recently with a shoulder problem. But he can still run and catch, even at 32. Here’s hoping he gets another shot.

09 Mar

steal this bag

To no one’s surprise, stolen bases are up significantly in spring training games this year. With a pitch clock, new pickoff rules and bigger bases, this was bound to happen. And this is great news for players whose main tool is speed. A shining example: former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton. Hamilton, 32 and several years removed from being a big league regular, is in the Chicago White Sox’s camp as a non-roster invitee. Thanks to the MLB changes for 2023, he stands a good chance of making the club out of spring training as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. If Hamilton isn’t the fastest player in baseball, he’s in the top five. He famously swiped 155 bases in a minor league season and is the all-time MLB steals leader among Mississippi natives with 324. He has an 82 percent career success rate. He stole 10 bases in 11 attempts last season, when he got just one hit in 20 at-bats while with Miami and Minnesota. He is 1-for-10 as a hitter this spring but is 2-for-2 in steals and has scored four runs in eight games. When he gets on, he can get over and get in — and have a major impact this season in a limited role. … Tim Anderson, the White Sox shortstop and former East Central Community College star, also figures to see a jump in his stolen base numbers this season. Anderson went 13-for-13 last year, when he played in just 79 games because of injuries, and has 104 steals in his seven big league seasons. His season-high is 26, which he could certainly threaten in 2023.

22 Jun

not done yet

Another opportunity has arisen for Billy Hamilton, the 31-year-old former Taylorsville High standout who signed a minor league contract on Tuesday with Miami. He was assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville. This is the definition of peripatetic: Since 2018, his last season with Cincinnati, his original club, Hamilton has hooked up with nine different major league organizations. Hamilton, the all-time stolen bases leader (314) among Mississippians in the majors, is no longer an everyday player but still has value as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in the outfield. A .240 career hitter in 869 MLB games, Hamilton finished 2021 with the Chicago White Sox, signed a minor league deal with Seattle in the spring and hit .168 at Triple-A Tacoma before opting for free agency on June 1. P.S. Brent Rooker, the ex-Mississippi State star, keeps banging away at Triple-A El Paso, hoping for another big league shot with San Diego. After a 3-for-5 game on Tuesday, Rooker is batting .274 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs. Twice the Padres have recalled the outfielder only to option him back to El Paso without giving him an at-bat. He hit .212 with 10 homers in 2020-21 with Minnesota. … Southern Miss product Matt Wallner, hitting leadoff Tuesday for Double-A Wichita in the Twins’ system, had two homers among his three hits and now has 15 on the year to go with a .278 average and 47 RBIs. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound outfielder hit 15 homers in A-ball last year, his second as a pro. … Props to Drew Lugbauer, whose 15th homer of 2022 made him the Mississippi Braves’ career leader with 33 bombs. The lefty-hitting first baseman, in his second Double-A tour, broke a tie with Travis Demeritte and Connor Lein.

22 Mar

big league chew

Billy Hamilton, the all-time leader in stolen bases among Mississippi natives in MLB, may get a chance to add to his impressive total in 2022, having signed a minor league contract with Seattle on Monday. The former Taylorsville High star, now 31, has played sparingly in recent seasons while bouncing from team to team to team. He doesn’t hit much (.240 career), but he can still run. He was 9-for-9 in steals for the Chicago White Sox last season and has 314 bags since his 2013 debut. And he can still go get it in the outfield; a diving catch he made in the rain last July was one of his all-time best. Don’t be surprised if Hamilton makes the roster with the Mariners, who have designs on the postseason this year. P.S. Corey Dickerson, the Meridian Community College native from McComb, made his St. Louis debut on Monday, going 1-for-2 with a walk as the DH and leadoff batter. Dickerson was a Mark McGwire fan growing up and is wearing Big Mac’s No. 25. The lefty hitter said in recent interviews that he plans to swing more for power this year. He hit just six homers in 336 at-bats in 2021 but has belted as many as 27 in a season (with Tampa Bay in 2017). … Texas beat Cleveland 25-12 Monday in a Cactus League game that lasted 4 hours, 17 minutes and “featured” 42 hits and 14 walks. Mississippi College alum Blaine Crim, playing for Texas, had one of the hits, ex-Mississippi State star Jack Kruger, also with the Rangers, drew one of the walks and Petal High product Demarcus Evans, one of the Rangers’ eight pitchers, allowed three walks and two runs.

30 May

energy guy

“Energy” isn’t one of the five tools commonly used to evaluate players. Maybe it should be. Billy Hamilton certainly has it, and it’s helped him stay in the game and make contributions with the Chicago White Sox this season. In Game 2 of the ChiSox’s sweep of Baltimore on Saturday, the Taylorsville High product hit his first home run of the season to break a scoreless tie in the fourth inning and sprinted around the bases, losing his helmet along the way. The guy one White Sox broadcaster called “Mr. Funsie” joyfully high-fived virtually every teammate in the dugout. Fans serenaded him as he took his position in center field at Guaranteed Rate Field. In the sixth, the speedy Hamilton made a diving catch with the bases loaded and no outs, preserving a 3-0 lead. The White Sox won 3-1, improving to 31-20. Hamilton has bounced all over the majors the last three years and made the White Sox as a non-roster invitee this spring. He is batting .208 with seven RBIs, nine runs and four steals in 29 games. Now 30 and in his ninth MLB season, Hamilton has his limitations, but he has found a way to fit in with a strong club, mainly with the energy he brings. “He’s the life of the party,” White Sox broadcaster Len Kasper said during Saturday’s game.