Keep eyes on Billy Hamilton young stats

[fredtoast]

(08-31-2016, 04:13 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: But to say he'll hit 800 steals and "possibly challenge Rickey or Brock," come on now.

Lou Brock only had 83 stolen bases when he was 25.  Hamilton will probably have over 200 by the end of this season at the same age.

[kevin]

I'm not even looking at the before World Series players, the before 1900 players, that was a whole different game and different stats. Stealing a base must have been pretty easy with the big wind up of pitchers and the catchers and the small gloves. A whole different game. No way those guys back then steal all those bases now, if they even make the team now. ...Heck, the game has changed since 1947 or 1970. ...No .400 hitter since Ted Williams before World War II.....No 30 game winner since Denny McLain in 1968.....4 man rotations...Pete Rose said bullpens became better from when he started to when he retired. Use to be all the stiffs went to the bullpen. Tug McGraw, Rollie Finger, Goose Gossage changed all that, as did manager Captain Hook. Now there are closers and set up men and middle relief and left handed relievers. You don't see people batting .400 or winning 40 games a year or stealing bases as they did before and around 1900. ...A whole different game.....and Jackie Robinson. ..Honus Wagner would bat maybe .300 but no way .400....Cy Young might win 20 games but no way 40 games....and they don't steal bases as easy as they did back then.

Billy Hamilton now at 57.....that puts him ahead of Deion Sanders and tied with Bobby Tolan.....How many remember Bobby Tolan from 1970. What a year he had for THE BIG RED MACHINE....Tolan in center, Pete in right, left was mostly Bernie Carbo....Perez had a great year, Bench was MVP. Helms was good with the glove. Lee May could hit at first. Young Concepcion new at SS. The pitching was great at first winning 70 out of 100...Then too many pitching injuries by the time Reds played Baltimore. ...Tolan really could steal under new manager Sparky Anderson and could hit and played good center field...The World Champion St Louis Cardinals had Brock in left, Curt Flood in center and in right they platooned aging Roger Maris and a young Bobby Tolan.

So Billy Hamilton at 57 now with about the whole month to play.

[kevin]

Hamilton now at 58 which ties him with Joe Morgan in 1972 or 1974.....Do I even have to ask if you remember Joe Morgan ?.....I'll remember a trade some Reds fans did not like at the time of trading Lee May, Tommy Helms and Jimmy Stewart.....but fans soon learned to appreciate getting Ed Armbrister, Denis Menke, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Joe Morgan. .....Oh, Joe Morgan was out for Houston in 1966 when struck in the knee cap by a ball hit in batting practice by Lee May.....The first time I saw Morgan in person, it was before a game. Before National Anthem. All players on both teams in the dugouts. Then I saw this Joe Morgan run from the dugout to center field. On his way back he stopped between first and second and did leg stretching exercises before he returned to the dugout for line-up introductions. I would see him do this many times. It shows how hard he worked to come back from his 1966 knee injury, and how hard he worked in general.

[StoneTheCrow]

(09-03-2016, 11:06 PM)kevin Wrote: Hamilton now at 58 which ties him with Joe Morgan in 1972 or 1974.....Do I even have to ask if you remember Joe Morgan ?.....I'll remember a trade some Reds fans did not like at the time of trading Lee May, Tommy Helms and Jimmy Stewart.....but fans soon learned to appreciate getting Ed Armbrister, Denis Menke, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Joe Morgan. .....Oh, Joe Morgan was out for Houston in 1966 when struck in the knee cap by a ball hit in batting practice by Lee May.....The first time I saw Morgan in person, it was before a game. Before National Anthem. All players on both teams in the dugouts.  Then I saw this Joe Morgan run from the dugout to center field. On his way back he stopped between first and second and did leg stretching exercises before he returned to the dugout for line-up introductions.  I would see him do this many times.  It shows how hard he worked to come back from his 1966 knee injury, and how hard he worked in general.

I read this as if Vin Scully was saying it and it was awesome. 

[kevin]

So it's very doubtful and pointless for injured Hamilton to come back last week of the season with Reds in last place and nothing left for team to do but clear out their lockers and all go home....but ......Hamilton has had over 50 stolen bases in each of his first 3 years. Morgan had the most for Reds with 6 seasons...You never know who these boneheads will trade as they have marched from first into last the last few seasons, but I would hope Hamilton is not on the trading block for Joe Palooka in single A.