2012 Season in Review: Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton came into 2012 after a down and up season of 2011. He struggled in the first half of 2011, but really turned things around in the second half of the year for Dayton. 2012 would be a record setting year for the speedster.

The Reds placed Hamilton in the hitting friendly confines of the California League to start the 2012 season and the shortstop took full advantage as he went on to hit .398 in April for the Bakersfield Blaze. With 14 walks and 18 strikeouts in 104 plate appearances, the plate discipline shown was a nice step forward from 2011. To go along with the plate discipline, Hamilton also slugged an impressive .591 that consisted of 6 doubles, 4 triples and a home run. Hamilton also stole 29 bases in 33 attempts as he marched toward the single season record in professional baseball.

Coming off of an incredible April, Hamilton took a step backwards as he would hit just .262 on the month with a .344 slugging percentage. In 135 plate appearances he would walk 11 times and strike out 22, showing solid plate discipline once again. He would steal 28 more bases while being caught 6 times, leaving his season total at 57 steals through the first 2 months of the season.

After a slow down in May for Hamilton, he turned things back into high gear in June where he would hit .347 with 22 walks and 20 strikeouts in 124 trips to the plate. He kept up the plate discipline and then some with an astonishing 22 walks. While his power was down from where he was in April, his 7 doubles and 2 triples were still solid. On top of an outstanding month hitting, Hamilton added an incredibly 39 steals in the month as he pushed his total to 96 on the season at the end of June.

July saw Hamilton split his time between the Bakersfield Blaze and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. In 29 trips to the plate Hamilton hit .269 with 3 walks and 10 strikeouts to go with 8 steals. Then he went on to play in the California League vs Carolina League All Star game before he was promoted to AA Pensacola. In 72 plate appearances Hamilton would hit .300 for the Blue Wahoos with 12 walks and 13 strikeouts to go along with 4 extra base hits including an inside-the-park home run. He would add another 12 steals as he pushed his season total to 117.

August and September saw Hamilton chasing down the all time single season steals record that was held by Vince Coleman. He did a good job of getting on base with a .270 average to go along with 24 walks against just 28 strikeouts in 137 trips to the plate. With only 5 extra base hits in 137 trips to the plate, power was down. Hamilton made up for it some by stealing 38 bases in that time frame, pushing his season total to 155. That set the new all time single season record for most steals in a single season by 10. Hamilton finished the season with the following stat line:

Overall Thoughts

After the season the Reds announced that they would be moving Billy Hamilton to center field for the 2013 season, with his first games coming in the Arizona Fall League. Three games into the season and Hamilton has yet to make an appearance. For the regular season Hamilton made big strides from 2011. His plate discipline was strong, though his strikeout rate of 18.7% still remains a concern for a player who doesn’t have much power. The walk rate moving up though is a large step forward and erases some doubt about his approach. His power seemed to step forward in the first half, but just 10 extra base hits in his time in Pensacola may suggest it was simply the league showing its hitter friendliness. While there are still some questions remaining about the floor for Hamilton, it has certainly gone up from last year while his ceiling still remains an MVP caliber leadoff hitter with outstanding defense, though at a new position.

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