Tag Archives: billy hamilton

11 Nov

one of these years

Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton, who once appeared to be a lock for the National League Rookie of the Year award, came up short in the end. Hamilton, Cincinnati’s center fielder, lost out to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who got 26 of the 30 first-place votes from media members. No Mississippi native has won the rookie award in either league since it was first instituted in 1947 to honor Jackie Robinson. (Ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan, who is from Florida, won the NL award in 2009.) Hamilton, who faded in the latter part of the season, hit .250 with 56 steals and 72 runs in 152 games. P.S. On the list of minor league free agents with Mississippi ties is Matt Tolbert, the former Ole Miss standout from McComb. Tolbert, who broke into pro ball in 2004 and has 247 MLB games on his ledger, batted .172 in 21 games in Double-A with Philadelphia this season. He might be done. Also out there are Alcorn State alumnus Corey Wimberly (in Minnesota’s system in 2014), UM product Cody Overbeck (San Diego), Jackson native Donnie Veal (Chicago White Sox) and former Ole Miss star Justin Henry (Boston).

18 Sep

photo finish ahead?

Still think Billy Hamilton will win the National League Rookie of the Year award. But it has become a competitive race. Jacob DeGrom, David Peralta and perhaps even Yangervis Solarte may garner support from voters down the stretch. Former Taylorsville High star Hamilton, Cincinnati’s leadoff batter and center fielder, has 56 stolen bases. That’s his eye-grabbing number. He has also hit a surprising six home runs, scored 72 times and driven in 48 runs in 147 games. Plus, he’s played great defense. But a September swoon (.146) has pulled his batting average down to .256, and his on-base percentage is a weak .298. He also has been caught stealing 23 times. DeGrom has surged of late and has posted an 8-6 record with a 2.68 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 134 1/3 innings for the New York Mets. Playing in the Big Apple also helps the shaggy-haired right-hander. Peralta, an outfielder for Arizona, is batting .293 (.326 OBP) with seven homers, 34 RBIs, 38 runs and nine triples. And then there’s Solarte, San Diego’s third baseman, who is batting .263 with 10 homers, 48 RBIs and 53 runs. Hamilton may need to lean hard at the tape to pull this win out.

28 Aug

welcome to the club

It’s not a record, but Billy Hamilton swiped his 50th base on Wednesday in Cincinnati’s 7-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. “It’s just what I do: Steal bases,” Hamilton told The Associated Press. The rookie from Taylorsville High joins an exclusive fraternity of Reds in the 50-bag club. Among the group: Bobby Tolan, Joe Morgan, Eric Davis, Barry Larkin and Deion Sanders. The Cincinnati record for steals by a rookie is within Hamilton’s reach: 54, by Bob Brescher in 1909, back in the deadball era. Brescher also holds the overall franchise record with 81, which he set in 1911. Hamilton has some other nice numbers, too: 126 hits, 66 runs, 24 doubles, seven triples and eight assists. … Also on Wednesday, Corey Dickerson belted his 20th home run, joining a whole lot of players in Colorado’s 20-homer club. However, the ex-Meridian Community College standout hit his milestone bomb into McCovey Cove in San Francisco for the 100th splash hit in AT&T Park’s history. (Barry Bonds hit most of them.) Dickerson has a few other numbers of note, as well: 109 hits, 60 runs, 63 RBIs, 23 doubles, four triples and eight stolen bases. P.S. Worth noting from Wednesday: Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi CC product, put down a nifty bunt to squeeze home a run as first-place Kansas City rallied late for a 6-1 victory against Minnesota. It would have been Dyson’s seventh sac bunt of the year, but he beat it out for a hit, his 65th of the season.

18 Aug

the heat is on

Billy Hamilton shook out of a slump on Sunday, going 5-for-9 with four runs and a stolen base (No. 45) for Cincinnati in a doubleheader against Colorado. However, the Reds lost both games — the first in particularly gut-wrenching fashion — and fell to 61-63 on the season. They are in real danger of missing the postseason for the first time in three years. The games are getting more important now for teams with playoff hopes, and there will be a lot of scrutiny on individual performances under this pressure. Taylorsville High product Hamilton gave the Reds a kick last September in a bit role; he hit .368, swiped 13 bags and scored nine runs in 13 games. This year is very different. Hamilton, while still a rookie, is the everyday leadoff man for an offense that has sputtered, especially since the All-Star break. He entered Sunday’s play batting just .190 with three runs and one bag in his last 10 games. His big day lifted his average to .271 and he now has 64 runs in 118 games. But it went for naught as the Reds’ pitching let them down, allowing 20 runs to the last-place Rockies at Coors Field. Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, who has been swinging the bat better of late, was just 1-for-7 on the day for the Reds and is at .226 on the season. From the other dugout, where there is no playoff pressure, McComb native Corey Dickerson went 4-for-9 with a homer (No. 17), five RBIs and three runs in the two games.

09 Jul

be a hero

He has 88 hits, 43 runs, 37 stolen bases, 36 RBIs, 18 doubles, five triples, five home runs and … one walk-off single. Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville Tornado, delivered his first game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, giving Cincinnati a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Hamilton also had an RBI triple and made a great catch in center field as the Reds, on another run, rallied from a 5-0 deficit and completed a twinbill sweep at Great American Ballpark. Cincinnati has won four straight games to climb to 48-42 and is within 3½ games of first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central. The Reds look like a playoff contender again, and Hamilton, the NL’s rookie of the month in June, looks like a strong rookie of the year candidate.

18 Jun

just the highlights

On a good day — like Tuesday — Billy Hamilton is the baseball equivalent of former basketball star Dominique Wilkins: a Human Highlight Film. Hamilton, the pride of Taylorsville, had three hits for Cincinnati, including a double and a bunt single. He drew a walk. He stole three bases (28 for the year). He scored twice. And he even threw out a runner, Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, at the plate. The Reds won the game 6-5 at PNC Park, sending Pirates fans home disappointed. But the true baseball fans among them had to be impressed with what they had seen from the visiting team’s wispy center fielder. P.S. Mycal Jones of the Mississippi Braves also did some box score-filling on Tuesday. He hit a homer, scored twice, drew a walk and stole a base for the South All-Stars in the Southern League All-Star Game at Chattanooga. Elmer Reyes also had a hit in the South’s 6-4 win. Matt Kennelly caught half the game and went 0-for-2. Williams Perez started for the South and put up a scoreless inning, while J.R. Graham and James Hoyt also pitched, both yielding home runs. Hoyt did record the final out.

16 Jun

good stuff, but …

Billy Hamilton led off with a home run at Milwaukee on Sunday, giving the former Taylorsville High star three bombs in his last eight games for Cincinnati. The 160-pound rookie leadoff batter has only two stolen bases over that span. Strange, but true. For the year, Hamilton is batting .264 with four homers, three triples, 18 RBIs, 31 runs and 25 steals (in 33 attempts). Those are good numbers, but this one isn’t: .301. That’s Hamilton’s on-base percentage. He has walked just 12 times in 63 games — and has fanned 43 times in his 220 official at-bats. He also has just six bunt hits. Considering his speed, he would seem capable of more. Bottom line: It’s been a good season for Hamilton so far, but there is room for improvement. P.S. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier was back in Minnesota’s lineup at second base on Sunday against Detroit after missing a couple of starts with a sore back. He homered — his 15th — on Saturday as a pinch hitter, then went 0-for-4 on Sunday.

02 May

opportunity knocks

Tony Sipp, the ex-Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star from Pascagoula, has signed a major league deal with Houston and reportedly will be in the Astros’ bullpen tonight when they host Seattle. Sipp had been at Triple-A Tucson in the San Diego system but was granted his release so he could sign with the Astros. Sipp, 30, came up with Cleveland and spent last season with Arizona. The left-hander has a 3.84 career ERA in 304 games. P.S. There has been nothing new today on Billy Hamilton’s injured left hand. The Taylorsville High product sprained his knuckles Thursday night making a diving catch. Word last night was that he might not miss more than a game or two. He is batting .245 with 11 steals for Cincinnati.

30 Apr

no doubt about it

We have replay confirmation: It left the yard. Actually, there wasn’t any doubt about Billy Hamilton’s first major league home run. “It wasn’t one of those wall-scrapers,” the former Taylorsville High star said of Tuesday night’s blast, which landed fairly deep in the right-field seats at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark. Without seeing it, one would have been justified in assuming that the wispy Hamilton’s first homer was an inside-the-parker. He is considered the fastest man in baseball. And for the record, two of his three hits on Tuesday were of the infield variety. He also stole his 10th base, drew a walk, scored twice and made a diving catch in center field as the scrambling Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2. Hamilton has lifted his average to .244 with a recent hot streak. Also of note: Hamilton hit 13 homers in his minor league career. … Meanhwile, Mississippi’s other homegrown speed demon in MLB, Jarrod Dyson, went 2-for-4, stole his fifth bag and scored a run to help Kansas City beat Toronto 10-7 and climb over .500 (13-12). Dyson, from McComb and Southwest Mississippi Community College, is batting .375 in limited playing time in center field for KC. … Unfortunately, the Reds and Royals don’t play this season. It would be fun to see Hamilton and Dyson on the same field. A stopwatch would be a required accessory.

21 Apr

slowly but surely?

It seems odd to put Billy Hamilton and the word “slowly” in the same sentence, but here goes: The former Taylorsville High star is slowly starting to hit for the Cincinnati Reds. The jet-fast Hamilton, feeling some pressure perhaps as the Reds’ new leadoff batter this spring, got off to an awful start but is batting .282 over his last 10 games. He extended his hit streak to five games with a 1-for-5 effort in the Reds’ 8-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. He is now hitting .213 with seven stolen bases in nine tries. He has walked just three times and scored only six runs, but those totals should begin to rise. “I’m starting to get to the point where I’m more relaxed, and I can play this game with the big guys,” Hamilton told mlb.com before getting three hits on Saturday. The Reds, just 8-10, need Hamilton’s spark at the top of the lineup. They could also use some more offensive crackle from Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, who is batting just .153. The Cincy shortstop went 3-for-5 Sunday and belted his first home run, so perhaps things are beginning to turn around for him, too. P.S. The New York Mets reportedly will recall 40-year-old outfielder Bobby Abreu, the only ex-Jackson General still playing affiliated ball. (Freddy Garcia apparently is going to pitch in Taiwan this year.)