Slamilton To Slumpilton
Once upon a time in a baseball fantasy world that seemed long, long ago … Josh Hamilton hit 4 home runs in one game. Then, to conclude one of the most dynamic, dominant performances in Major League Baseball history, he hit another a couple days later off Angels' pitcher C.J. Wilson.
At the time – May 12 – Hamilton had 18 homers. He swatted 9 in a week. He was hitting .407.
All the land rejoiced, calling him the best player in baseball and demanding – via signs that read "Pay Him!" – that the Rangers drop everything and sign Josh to a lucrative, long-term contract in advance of his deal expiring at the end of the season.
Things are still going swimmingly for the Rangers. They've got the best record in baseball. They went 14-4 in interleague play. Their lead over the Angels is 5, largest of any division leader. Their magic number is – too soon? – 85.
But something happened on the way to Hamilton to hitting 80 homers, winning another MVP and getting paid. Reality.
How's this? On May 8 Hamilton hit 4 homers in a game. In the 35 games since, he's only hit 4 more.
After two MVP months, Josh's slump has reached alarming depths in June. He had 34 hits in April and 33 more in May. This month he has only 14 (hitting .194), to go along with 27 strikeouts. His average has fallen a dramatic 88 points after Sunday's 1-for-4 in another win over the Rockies.
Is Hamilton merely slumping? Have pitchers figured him out? Or is something else going on?
With LeBron James winning a title last week, Hamilton inched up the list of "best players without a ring" alongside Ichiro, DeMarcus Ware and Steve Nash. But Josh is so compelling his slump has mostly gone unnoticed. Ask local baseball fans about Josh and they'll invariably resurrect the 4-homer night, as though it were 7 days ago instead of 7 weeks ago.
He recently went to the hospital with a virus. His life is being made into a movie, in which he'll be played by the likes of Will Ferrell, Cole Hauser or perhaps Charlie Sheen. His bat continues to fly into the stands on wild swings-and-misses and Sunday he stepped into the batter's box with a toothpick in his mouth, channeling the Royals' U.L. Washington from the '80s.
Camouflaged by it all, Hamilton struck out again yesterday. Make that 11 of his last 21 at-bats.
Hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh calls it the inevitable "valley." Manager Ron Washington is praying for patience.
Nobody swings at 1st pitches more than Hamilton, who leads the AL at almost 50 percent. Pitchers, turns out, do indeed learn from their mistakes.
"I'm not saying he shouldn't stop swinging the bat," said Washington, who met with Hamilton after Saturday's 4-strikeout performance. "But he's swinging at a whole bunch of balls out of the zone, way out of the zone."
Said Hamilton to reporters before Sunday's game, "Not talking about it. Just keep your eyes open and watch. That's all you need to know."
Hamilton, of course, is still one of the best players in baseball. He can win games with his speed, his glove, his arm and his bat. But after watching him time and again turn on inside pitches and deposit them into history, pitchers have responded with a shrewd move: Breaking balls. Away. As of yet, Hamilton hasn't perfected the practice of patience. He should be walking tons. Instead, he's striking out and prompting fans to ponder who will be cast as his main co-star in the movie – the flailing, flying bat.
Like a lot of us demanded at the time, patience is best for Hamilton.
At the plate. And, yes, with his contract.
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