What a Waste

Turning 30 next month, center fielder Billy Hamilton is at that point in his career where he goes places, as in from team to team.  Hamilton is on his third team since the start of last season.  To these eyes at least, his is a career heavy on what might have been.

Hamilton is a career .242 hitter whose game has been built on speed.  He once stole an incredible 155 bases for two teams in a minor-league season and has 297 career swipes in the majors.  He’s also been thrown out 68 times, a figure the analytics’ crowd probably doesn’t like.

They’re more impressed by Hamilton’s defense.  I was going to cite some advanced stats here, if only I could understand them.  Suffice it to say you don’t want to hit the ball anywhere in the neighborhood because Hamilton might just catch the ball, against all odds.  In that, he reminds me of Adam Engel of the White Sox.

I can’t help but wonder why Hamilton and Engel haven’t become perennial All-Stars; speed and defense go a long way in making a career.  Then again, so does hitting, and neither of these ball hawks has exactly set the world on fire with their batting averages; at .208, Engel is closer to the Mendoza Line than Hamilton even.  Is it a matter of bad coaching, stubbornness, or simply a lack of offensive talent?  All I know is I would’ve tried to make these guys bunt twice a game day in and day out just to get their gloves in the lineup.

What a waste and what better candidates to be late bloomers?