Cougars outfielder Josh Hamilton
On Tuesday night, Cougars outfielder Josh Hamilton became the 16th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game. For good measure, he added a double and went 5 for 5 as the Rangers crushed the Orioles 10-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. As much attention as perfect games receive, including Phil Humber’s last month, the four home run game has been a rarer feat. No player had done it since Carlos Delgado late in the 2003 season. Hamilton is the fourth DTBL player to do it, joining Delgado (Darkhorses), Shawn Green (Darkhorses, 2002) and Mike Cameron (Kings, 2002). Hamilton’s 18 total bases set a new American League record and was just one shy of the MLB record (Green).
Hamilton has been on a tear all season. He hit his league leading 15th home run tonight in his first game since the historic night. Add the one he hit on Monday night and that is six in the series in Baltimore. Entering today, he had a comfortable lead in RBIs (36) and batting average (.406) too. So, approaching the 1/4 mark of the season, he is leading all three of the Triple Crown categories. Hamilton and defending league MVP Matt Kemp have been the two most dominating offensive player this season by a wide margin.
Josh Hamilton has been carrying a much improved Cougars offense this season. They lead the DTBL in RBIs and are second in home runs. Last year, they finished in ninth and eighth in those categories. Overall, they find themselves in seventh place, but closely bunched with about half the league.
A 2008 second round draft pick by the Cougars, Hamilton has 111 DTBL career home runs with a very impressive .316 average. Interestingly, he reached a minor DTBL career milestone on Tuesday night, passing the 400 RBI mark. Even numbered years have been especially impressive for Hamilton. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 130 in his DTBL rookie campaign of ’08. Then in 2010, he cruised to the batting title, hitting at a .361 clip. 2012 is looking like another special even numbered year for Hamilton.
I had a blog post all planned out for this week in which I intended to detail the extent in which injuries are decimating the league as a whole, and a couple teams in particular. But Hamilton’s historic achievement will push that article to a later date. I have a feeling it will still be relevant in another week or two.
Can I get reservations for +3?
Incredible three games for Hamilton, and the one in between Lewis gives up 5 hits, all HRs, to the Orioles.
Baseball is crazy.