Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
Breaking News Josh Hamilton ... wow ...

Full story link now available (as of 11:15 ET) -- if you see more stories to link to, add them in the comments please. As I posted this, I had just sprinted into my home office from the TV after seeing Josh Hamilton homer for the fourth time today agains the Orioles (he also doubled -- the 18 TB in one game are an AL record).

The Rangers won big, 10-3, so the O's fans gave Josh an immediate ovation. If you're gonna get trouncecd, at least watch history. And it's just the 14th four-dinger game in MLB history since 1900. The fourth one was to dead center, bounced off the top of the wall, up and to the left and just snuck over the fence.  Wow. Did I mention, wow? Four-homer games are just about exactly as rare as perfect games -- which would you rather see, Bauxites?

  • The story from ESPN DFW -- Four! Hamilton slams 4 two-run HRs
  • Cool trivia note: Elvis Andrus was on base as the sole baserunner for all four of Hamilton's two-run shots.
  • Head's up -- new trivia challenge question within on Comment #12!

All numbers and references in this story according to the Rangers teevee booth and are welcome to be corrected and checked if anyone cares to do so. thanks to those already having posted some corrections, this lede has already been updated.

Posted by Mick Doherty on Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 09:27 PM EDT.
Josh Hamilton ... wow ... | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
92-93 - Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 09:34 PM EDT (#256011) #
Carlos Delgado should have won the MVP in 2003.
[ Reply to This ]
PeteMoss - Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 09:42 PM EDT (#256012) #
Rangers have just pummeled the Orioles these past two games.

Does make you wonder... if Hamilton hadn't imploded as a young guy.... what kind of career would he have had?

And if he makes it to free agency.. that will be very interesting. How long of a contract will teams be willing to give a guy with his past and ongoing injury issues.
[ Reply to This ]
greenfrog - Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 09:52 PM EDT (#256013) #
Four HR and a double. Now hitting 406/458/840. My goodness.

Can Adam Lind borrow his hitting coach for a few weeks?
[ Reply to This ]
James W - Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 10:38 PM EDT (#256014) #

http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/7907243/josh-hamilton-texas-rangers-hits-four-2-run-hrs-baltimore-orioles

It wasn't 4 straight at bats, as he doubled in his 3rd at bat.  The above link says there have been 16 four-homer games, but 2 were before 1900, so maybe that's what you were referring to.

[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 11:12 PM EDT (#256018) #

Thanks, James. As noted, all my "facts" came unedited from TV booth comments. I will edit it somewhat above and anyone else, bring on the further edits. I did not realize either that his 18 TB in one game was an AL record.

[ Reply to This ]
MatO - Tuesday, May 08 2012 @ 11:36 PM EDT (#256020) #

Hamilton's two-rum shot

This makes the feat even more amazing.  Imagine if he was sober.

[ Reply to This ]
christaylor - Wednesday, May 09 2012 @ 02:35 AM EDT (#256037) #
Warning amateur sports psychology:

Hamilton -- he's probably a player who would have benefitted from being rushed to the show. It wasn't like the Rays were going anywhere at the time. From a glance at his minors stat line he rose to AA quickly where he struggled in 89 AB. He was demoted to high A where he raked again... and let's just say, for the sake of argument, was partying while putting up those numbers and bored out of his skull. From the media he seems like a person who needs something at the core of his life (now his religion/grandma) lest he let loose (perfectly understandable) hedonistic tendencies.

We're all sensitive to this knowing the Roy Halladay story. Stats only analysis gets rid of a lot of mushy thinking, but will always be blind to the fact that baseball players are people and all the rules of management and psychology apply. Some on here have argued convincingly for the use of a nutritionist at every level of the minors as a low-cost low-risk high-payoff use of resources. I think the same argument applies to sports psychologists. In going for that extra 2% this is avenue for data (especially if the psychologist higher were behavioral instead of psychodynamic psychologists).

There's no way that that trained sports psychologists couldn't be hired for less than a two million a year for every team at every level. With the rule 4 draft now becoming less costly, smart organizations should invest in every aspect of the well-being of the players physical and mental.
[ Reply to This ]
lexomatic - Wednesday, May 09 2012 @ 06:34 AM EDT (#256040) #
There's no way that that trained sports psychologists couldn't be hired for less than a two million a year for every team at every level. With the rule 4 draft now becoming less costly, smart organizations should invest in every aspect of the well-being of the players physical and mental.

There will definitely be players who resist, and those who get messed up by the shrinkage. I'm not disagreeing, I just don't know how much benefit there will be.
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Wednesday, May 09 2012 @ 01:44 PM EDT (#256081) #

Don't know how to search for or link to it, but apparently Carlos Delgado has tweeted a congrtulatory "welcome to ehe club" to Hamilton inTwitter. Awesome. I do hope they are inviting Mark Whiten to the next alumni dinner -- people always forget him!

[ Reply to This ]
John Northey - Thursday, May 10 2012 @ 04:01 PM EDT (#256127) #
How many 4 HR in a game guys are still kicking out there?

Whiten, Delgado & Hamilton are obvious. Bob Horner did it back in the 80's (I think against the Expos and his team lost). Shawn Green did it, Mike Cameron, Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays. That covers the expansion era (1961 to today). I think all of those guys are still with us.

Funny that 3 guys with strong Jay connections are on the list - Whiten, Delgado & Green although only Delgado did it as a Jay.
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Thursday, May 10 2012 @ 08:58 PM EDT (#256147) #

You do that off the top of your head, John? Very impressive. I was fortunate to see Horner do it on TV -- not on TBS, which I dont think reacched us at the time, but NW Ohio did have one little Canadian station that happened to show the 'spos games and as I recall, everyone saw this as another early step toward Horner's eventual Cooperstown enshrinement ...

Trivia, and this is off the top of my head, so forgive me if I am wrong ... only two players have ever hit more than four homers in a single day. One is a Hall of Famer, the other ... not so much. Both NL guys, played the same position (while hitting these bombs, anyway), for two different teams with exteremly holy connections, if you know what I mean. One had the simplest yet most recognizeable nickname ever, The other, as I recall, did not have one and would likely have his name pronounced incorrectly now thanks to the advent of cable television. One played, near the bookends of his career, for both '69 NL expansion teams, but was out of the game for good at age 30,; he played for five teams overall but is clearly best known for the holy one. The other played for just one team and lasted until he was 42. The one made three All-star teams while the other won four MVPs. The two combined to his 654 MLB home runs, or just a noodge shy of Willie Mays' career 660.

Enough hints.  Who are these guys? You can do it, Bauxites -- first to answer correctly with a sworn oath on a Doug Ault '77 Topps (mint condition) that he didn't look it  up will win the coveted No-No Prize. What's that? You'll have to wait and see. Ready? Go!

[ Reply to This ]
ogator - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 08:25 AM EDT (#256152) #
Otto "the swatto" Velez in a double dip.
[ Reply to This ]
John Northey - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 09:04 AM EDT (#256153) #
Mick, not quite all was off the top of my head. Horner certainly was as I watched that game on TSN iirc - big Expos fan back in the 80's. The rest I stole off wikipedia. A decade ago I'd have known that stuff off the top of my head but now it is filled with Twilight and other pre-teen girl stuff like it or not - the price of having 3 girls.
[ Reply to This ]
AWeb - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 09:34 AM EDT (#256158) #
I know Musial did the 5 homers in a double header thing, so he's the easy one. I got nothing for the second guy.
[ Reply to This ]
Magpie - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 11:15 AM EDT (#256170) #
only two players have ever hit more than four homers in a single day.

Stan the Man we have, and the other guy is Nate Colbert (COAL-BERT!) of the Padres.

Lou Gehrig famously hit four in one game (and just missed a fifth) and wasn't even the lead baseball story in his own home town. John McGraw picked the same day to retire as manager of the Giants.
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 11:18 AM EDT (#256171) #

AWeb gets the first one on an easy base knock to the opposite field. WHo can clang the double off the wall to bring home the rest of the No-No Prize? I thought the hint about cable television would give it away ... c'mon, folks, this is a book that could write itself, I Am a Baseball Player and So Can You ... I

[ Reply to This ]
Mike Green - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 11:40 AM EDT (#256174) #
Yep, Magpie's right about Colbert.  Which gets me thinking about a Daily Show Hall of Names...hell, there's even a Gillick associated with it. 
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 03:20 PM EDT (#256205) #
Bring it on, Greenie! Can we use any and all member sof the Boston Bees thanks to Sam Bee?
[ Reply to This ]
Mike Green - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 03:42 PM EDT (#256206) #
It will happen, Mick.  I wonder how many Stewarts will need to be used.
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 04:31 PM EDT (#256211) #
I thinkwe did an All-Stewart once. Broaden it all Late Night shows -- that gets you Letterman, Carson, Kimmell, Leno, Paar, Fallon, Kilborn, Hall (Arsenio!), etc. (many more!! -- and other regulars on those shows, McMahon, Schaefer, etc. This HoN writes itself! The gauntlet is thrown!
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 04:34 PM EDT (#256212) #
Wrong again -- we've never done HoN for Stewart or even Stuart. I'll get on that for the weekend, sirrah!
[ Reply to This ]
Mick Doherty - Friday, May 11 2012 @ 04:43 PM EDT (#256214) #
Mags and A-Web share this one ...
[ Reply to This ]
Josh Hamilton ... wow ... | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.