The Mets have designated outfielder Billy Hamilton for assignment, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report.
New York acquired Hamilton from San Francisco just over a month ago, but the move failed to pay dividends for the Mets. The soon-to-be 30-year-old Hamilton wound up going 1-for-22 as a Met before they designated him, and his stint with the team may have ended Thursday when he came in as a pinch runner in the bottom of the ninth against the Yankees and was thrown out trying to steal third with no outs. Fortunately for the Mets, J.D. Davis then homered to tie the game, and they went on to defeat the Yankees in extra innings.
Base-running mistakes weren’t what the Mets bargained for when they landed Hamilton, who has more than held his own on the base paths since debuting with the Reds in 2013. The speedy Hamilton has 302 steals on 382 attempts on his resume, and he has also provided excellent defense in center field with 75 DRS and a 55.8 UZR. But an inability to contribute passable numbers with the bat has held back the switch-hitting Hamilton, owner of a .241/.295/.324 line with 21 home runs in 3,114 plate appearances.
The guy got a hit, but still gets no respect.
They’re really mad that he tried stealing third yesterday. With the Mets luck in extra innings, I don’t blame him one bit for trying to make SOMETHING happen.
Trying to steal third in that situation was indefensible.
Love ur name lol
It was a horrible decision. He had one job to do, which was to steal second to get into scoring position. Mission accomplished. He had no business trying to steal third.
Kirk miss that guy
“never make the first or third out at third”
There is a reason for these axioms in baseball
I am glad he is gone; only lucky for him the Mets pulled it out after his blunder.
Hit, pinch runner right?
Steal or balk; don’t remember
Does anyone remember what the Mets gave up to get him?
Another losing move…
Jordan Humphrys, or however you spell it
Dumbest move I have seen in the last 10 years.
Never make the first or third out going to 3rd base.
newpony13:
Trying to make something happen in the wrong situation is exactly what rookies get chewed out for. When you’re in your 8th year in the majors you should know not to do something that stupid for the sake of trying to make something happen. That’s a total rookie mistake, and the fact that he did not realize that says all you need to know about Hamilton.
Kidding right?
Major League sarcasm. Outstanding.
Thats what happens when you get thrown out at third for the first out. Golden rule dont make the first or third out at third.
Stupidest, CLUELESS Player They Had since Angel Pagan
Idk he seem pretty sharp with the Giants
Psycho Lyons used to do that when he was with Boston sometimes. Why do some people try to steal 3b with 0 outs??
A contending team in-need of a speedster off the bench might want this guy.
I know he’s fast, but there’s other guys out there that you can you speed and base running and maybe also hit close to 200. Hamilton is so bad offensively.
I agree. He should be used the same way KC used Gore; strictly pinch run in the 8th or 9th. Hamilton should be banned from carrying or owning bats of any kind.
You can’t carry a player like that. He will get at bats, can’t be avoided. And pinch running adds a minuscule amount of value, if any. It will be negated by him hurting you with the bat. Not worth the roster spot. Situations in which a pinch runner makes a significant contribution are almost nil. He’s not a baseball player. Every team he plays for learns this.
Totallly agree, I remember Gore on the Cubs and he had to bat in the Wild Card game against the Rockies, it was a critical spot in the late innings and ump thought Gore was HBP but because Gore did not sell it the Rockies challenged then overturned and goes on to swing at ball 4 for the strikeout. Anybody else at the plate in the situation and they would Of been at 1B
Hamilton’s days on the roster were probably already numbered, but that was certainly a lousy way for him to make his exit.
The Mets have Jake Marisnick already… for speed…
And they have a couple more no hit guys who can play center working out in Brooklyn in case Marisnick goes down again in Heredia and Cordell even after Lagares chose free agency when he was outrighted.
truely squandered the asset of Humphreys
Thanks it was Humphreys we gave up; what a waste
Mets DFA’d Humphreys so I think Giants claimed him and instead of letting him go for nothing the Mets worked out the trade for Hamilton.
Where is Herb Washington these days ???
Making millions owning a couple dozen McDonald’s franchises.
Billy Hamilton isn’t a very good all-around player, but he’ll end up on some playoff team’s bench for the stretch run strictly because of how much value he (normally) adds on the bases.
Michael Chaney:
I’ll bet he doesn’t. He’s a waste of a roster spot. Teams these days want their utility guys to be flexible to different roles.. Hamilton is a one dimensional player. I’m surprised he’s lasted this long.
Wanna bet?
I don’t think he can participate in the postseason. I think postseason eligibility had a cutoff of August 31st.
He adds very little on the bases. In a seven game series, how often does an important pinch running situation come up? Not even once a series probably…. a player whose only asset is speed is not worth it. When will we learn this?
Then why have Terrance Gore and Quinton Berry kept latching on with playoff teams down the stretch over the years? I’m not saying it IS worth it, but in the past teams have shown to be willing to carry a player like that. And that was with 25-man rosters, as opposed to this year.
Cuz old-school thought can be hard for some folks to shake, even years after the thought has been established as idiotic. This applies doubly in baseball. Plus, some GMs probably are trying to be the cleverest guy in the game and go against modern understanding, thinking, “THIS time it’s going to work, and I’ll look like a genius!” But it never really works.
It still just blows my mind that this guy didn’t become a bunting machine. He’d get on base 50% of the time if he did.
Hell, I can’t understand why he isn’t working on that right now. I’ve thought of that too. It seems like a really good strategy for him.
Bunting isn’t that easy if the opposing team suspects that’s what a guy will do. High fastballs with the corners in and the fastest guy in the world won’t get on base that often if bunting is all he can do.
Probably cuz he can’t bunt well. It’s not easy.
That’s because he didn’t know how to bunt. He would ALWAYS take off running before the bat contacted the ball, thereby losing all control of where the ball was going. And he was fast enough that he didn’t need that extra step if h just focused on placement.
But his biggest problem was the same one that affected Willie Mays Hayes in Major League 2. He was a slap hitter that tried his best to be a power hitter. It seemed like 75% of the balls he hit went in the air, negating his speed altogether.
Not everyone can learn to bunt successfully. There is talent involved. But yea, he may have some Willie Mays Hayes syndrome. I dunno his fly ball to ground ball ratio.
The three stages of Billy Hamilton: 1. “With his speed and fielding, if he could get on base a bit more, he’s a valuable player!“ 2. “Well, he can’t hit, but he’s good as a defensive replacement or pinch runner!” 3. “If this scrub is still on the roster tomorrow I’m going to scream!”… Mets are the latest to learn, who’s next?
LOL! Ya. Hamilton is that guy who you always see potential with because of what he is good at but then what he is bad at just takes all that away.
One of the worst hitters I’ve seen
It’s a shame he never learned to bunt or become a Brett Butler type of hitter.
Don’t sully Brett Butler’s name by comparing him to Hamilton. Butler had a 110 OPS+ for his career. Hamilton has a pathetic 67, and that has gone down almost every year since his first full season in 2014.
Bunting worked for Butler, because teams had to respect his bat. Nobody respects Hamilton’s bat. Just because a guy has speed doesn’t mean bunting would be a workable strategy
They can get lagares back
I imagine a contender will have a spot for him to utilize his speed/defense, Late in games
Ugh
He’s was terrible and trying to steal 3rd with no one out took the cake.
But for what it’s worth the players picked his brain on how to steal.
Rosario finally tried to steal and got thrown out so maybe not the best example lol
I suspect Milwaukee will take him on since when he isn’t playing he can compete in the sausage races
Bartolo Colon: “Did somebody say sausage?”
Ought to put Billy’s bat in a glass case with a sign that reads: “Break Glass Only In Emergency”., and then pray for no emergencies.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see some team pick him up simply because you can’t teach speed.
As a 28th man, his legs might win a game or two in the right situation. And everyone knows he’ll catch anything hit in CF, so as a late-inning defender, he ain’t a bad choice.
Note: I’m pretty sure a previous poster was correct when he pointed out Hamilton would not be eligible for post-season play if a team signed him because he wasn’t on their roster by August 31st.
His legs aren’t winning anything. The “right situation” probably comes up less than once a year.
Wow…that’s not like Billy, he knows better than to do that…humm
Man, since I was 8 years old. There’s certain “rules of baseball” you don’t violate.
1. Don’t throw behind runners
2. Hit the cutoff man
3. Run out everything
4. Call for it….and go get it.
5. Never…EVER…make the 1st or 3rd out at 3rd base.
Hamilton is on second with no outs. There’s no need to steal 3rd right then. He could get to 3rd on a ground out (maybe even to the left side) or a decent fly ball. A wild pitch/pass ball could do it.
When he did that I could just feel the Mets saying to themselves, “Get rid of this moron.”
I have no problem with the Mets dumping Hamilton. Unless that opens up a roster spot for the return of Hunter Strickland. Then I would have a problem
When you only have one offensive skill you use it. Hamilton can’t hit and doesn’t really have any strike zone recognition so he doesn’t walk much either.
8/3/91, Vince Coleman (then with the Mets) was thrown out trying to steal third with two outs in the 7th inning and the Mets’ best hitter up (Howard Johnson). After the game, when a reporter asked him why he would try to steal in that situation, he responded, “I’m a base stealer.”