Cincinnati Reds’ Billy Hamilton is defining who he is as a player

The Cincinnati Reds keep batting Billy Hamilton lead-off, but he has shown himself to be a different sort of player.

The Cincinnati Reds keep waiting for Billy Hamilton to turn into Vince Coleman. The Reds know Coleman. He was one of them his second to last year in the majors.

Coleman only had one season in his first 12 where his OBP was as low as Hamilton’s career average. Let that sink in. Hamilton’s average is worse than all but one of Coleman’s individual seasons.

The first six years of Coleman’s career he either led the National League or MLB in stolen bases. That’s why the comparison is so relevant. There hasn’t been a base stealer like Coleman since he retired until Hamilton came along.

Hamilton is only stealing about half the number of stolen bases that Coleman did in his first few seasons, but that is relative to the times. Coleman played when speed was the name of the game. He also played on the fast carpet at the Old Busch Stadium.

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Meanwhile, Hamilton has been the new age base stealer. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get on base using the bunt or by driving the ball into the ground. Ground balls are the bain of most hitters, but not someone with the speed of Hamilton.

The Cincinnati Reds have an elite defensive center fielder that can steal bases, but not a lead-off hitter.

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Hamilton is the best defensive center fielder in the history of the franchise. Eric Davis and Cesar Geroniimo, who both played in Riverfront Stadium, have nothing on Hamilton. He gets more balls than nearly anyone else in the majors.

Unfortunately, his offense is closer to that of a number seven hitter. He has a career OBP of just under .300. His career slugging percentage is .334.

The Reds keep batting him lead-off and wearing him down. His legs are his offensive and defensive weapon.

The extra plate appearances are not doing anyone for the Reds any favor.

Despite Hamilton’s low OBP and the multiple injuries of All-Star shortstop Zack Cozart, first baseman Joey Votto has more RBIs in the first inning than anyone in baseball. In fact, Votto has more RBIs in the first inning than anyone in baseball has in any one inning. Imagine what Votto could do with more batters on in front of him.

Next: Were the Reds right to trade Brandon Phillips?

That’s the Hamilton curse. It looked like he was getting traded last off-season and this year it is more likely. The Reds just can’t accept what they have in the elite defensive center fielder.

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