Josh Hamilton Breaks Out

There's no denying that Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is one of the elite players currently in MLB. From his power display in the 2008 All-Star Hitting Contest at Old Yankee Stadium to his recent power barrage against the Orioles, Hamilton is making a case for his cashing in on big bucks during the next offseason when he becomes a free-agent.

Hamilton racked up a 5-for-5 night against the Orioles on Tuesday night which included four homers, a double totaling 18 bases with 8 runs batted in. The 18 total bases tied the Major League single game record set by Joe Adcock (who also has hit four homeruns in a game) of the Milwaukee Braves in 1954. The four homeruns in a game places Hamilton as the 14th player to reach that plateau. Here's a list of the players who have formerly reached the four homer in a game plateau in the modern era (Post 1901):

Lou Gehrig
Chuck Klein
Pat Seerey
Gil Hodges
Joe Adcock
Rocky Colavito
Willie Mays
Mike Schmidt
Bob Horner
Mark Whiten
Mike Cameron
Shawn Green
Carlos Delgado
****Bobby Lowe (1894) and Ed Delahanty (1896) hit four homeruns before the modern era

There are some amazing names on that list. You have four Hall of Famers (Gehrig, Klein, Mays, Schmidt), Hodges who many believe should be a Hall of Famer. Very good players in Delgado, Green, Adcock and Colavito. So where does Hamilton rank?

Its hard to say. Hamilton has six years of playing time after missing the 2003-2005 seasons due to suspension from substance abuse. Whose to say where he would be if he had been able to play those three seasons. Currently Hamilton has a career .313 batting average with 132 HRs and 461 RBI with a career OPS of .926 (.370 OBP/.556 SLG). At the age of almost 31 (He turns 31 later on this month) he has potentially 5-7 more seasons where he can put up some major offensive numbers. Hamilton is also an amazing defensive player that has speed leading to his reputation as being a five-tool player. Whether or not he remains healthy is an issue. Hamilton has had injury issues having only played more than 150 games in a season once (2008). So if there's any reason that he doesn't come close to being in the Hall of Fame discussion, that is it (Hamilton would have to play 10 full seasons in MLB to be eligible for Hall of Fame voting 5 years after he retires).

Either way, Hamilton continues to amaze Baseball fans throughout the league. Texas Rangers fans should enjoy what they are seeing. It could be the last season he wears #32 in Arlington.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here to access Josh Hamilton's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access the 4 Home Runs in 1 Game list from Baseball Almanac.com