the billy club

Billy Hamilton fever is spreading. He got a mention on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption the other day. Baseball America and milb.com have “Race for the Record” factoids on the front page of their web sites, tracking the Taylorsville native’s stolen bases. He has 131 at the moment. Vince Coleman’s pro record is 145. Hamilton’s team, the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, has 24 games left. They have 14 scheduled before they arrive at Trustmark Park for an Aug. 24-28 series. Hamilton is averaging a stolen base a game (27 in 27) for Pensacola, so he could already have tied — or even broken — the record by then. But with a rest day here or a rainout there … it could be close. Noteworthy, also, is the fact that Hamilton is hitting a respectable .263 in Double-A, with a homer (inside the park) and 18 runs. P.S. Mississippi State alum and 2012 Ferriss Trophy winner Chris Stratton has a 5.40 ERA in limited (8 1/3) innings in rookie ball with San Francisco.