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Rangers: Five things to know
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The baseball rocketed deep into the distance and crashed down somewhere near Flagstaff. Then another. Then another.
"Hey, Salty, can I have your autograph?" a man hollered when the late-morning batting practice round was finished, and talk about your priceless moments.
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| Josh Hamilton made a breakthrough during a 90-game stint with Cincinnati last season. (US Presswire) |
"I think Hamilton's got a chance to be maybe the best player in baseball," says a scout who has been tracking the Rangers through the Cactus League. "I mean, this guy is Mickey Mantle or something."
It's only mid-March, you tell yourself.
Then Hamilton ropes a ball deep, blows around the bases like the wind and stands there with a triple.
Spring numbers mean about as much as a politician's promises, you remind yourself.
Through Tuesday, Hamilton leads the majors with 11 spring RBI, and had he enough at-bats to qualify, he also would lead in batting average (.522) and slugging percentage (1.043).
"You can't wait until he comes up to bat again, just to watch him," the scout says. "In batting practice, he hits to all fields, goes deep everywhere. He runs down balls in the field, he throws ... I don't know if there's anything he can't do."
There's a growing buzz emanating from Surprise, and it isn't simply because there's a new Home Depot or Bed, Bath and Beyond around the corner.
"Everybody stops what they're doing and looks when he comes up," the scout finishes. "And everybody ends up making giggly sounds. Aw, geez! My goodness!"
These are crusty, hardened baseball men who have seen plenty of Second Comings over the past several dozen springs ... and Third Comings, and phenoms and prospects and Next Big Things.
And, wait just a sec. Giggly sounds?
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels and his staff first targeted Hamilton last September, when he was taking his final comeback lap of 2007 in Cincinnati. They knew the Reds had a surplus of outfielders, and knew Hamilton played only 90 games there last summer.
They also knew that after the kid missed three full seasons while getting his life back together following drug and alcohol addictions, he had gone a long way toward proving himself clean, sober and deserving of more opportunities.
From the Rangers' perspective, what Daniels had learned from the 2007 season was that, given the spaciousness of the Texas outfield and the suffocating heat that comes with it, the club needed to get younger and more athletic out there.
"I didn't think Cincinnati was looking to move him, but I thought they'd at least consider it," Daniels says.
He first spoke with Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky early last November.
"Wayne made it pretty clear on Day 1 what it was going to cost," Daniels says. "It took us awhile. I tried a lot of different variations without giving up (right-hander) Edinson Volquez."
In the end, it was Volquez and lefty Danny Ray Herrera for Hamilton in a deal consummated last Dec. 21.
But, given Hamilton's history with both substance abuse and injuries, a whole lot more went into the trade than simply several rounds of exchanging names. Hamilton, 26, was on the disabled list twice last summer, once for gastroenteritis and once for a sprained right wrist.
In previous minor league stops in the early 2000s, he was disabled with a torn meniscus in a knee, back strains, a strained quadriceps, a strained rib cage and shoulder and elbow surgeries.
The Rangers put Hamilton through what club officials call probably the most extensive physical exam they've ever put any player through. They dispatched club representatives to Hamilton's offseason home in North Carolina to observe him speaking with youth groups, delivering his Christian testimony and life experiences.
"Regardless of what your transgressions are, it's not often you see someone take responsibility the way he has," Daniels says.
They saw the good that can come out of it in Cincinnati last summer, where Reds fans rewarded him with three touching standing ovations on opening day. They saw it when he cracked 19 home runs, collected 47 RBI and compiled a .368 on-base percentage in only 90 games (298 at-bats).
All that from a kid who, amazingly, had never played above the Class A level, who played no baseball at all in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and then played in a mere 15 games in 2006 with Hudson Valley, Tampa Bay's short-season Class A affiliate.
"I feel like God had me in the right place last year," Hamilton says. "And I feel like I'm where he wants me my second year in, too."
He's an earnest, friendly guy. Looks you in the eye. Smiles. Doesn't duck questions. Humble. And man, can he play.
"He could be a huge addition for us, as far as talent," pitcher Kevin Millwood says. "But bigger than that is the type of guy he is. People have a lot of respect for him, as well they should. What he's been through, being able to beat things in the world that most people can't."
It is a much different Rangers team this spring than last. More weathered, and more wary. A year ago, manager Ron Washington was in his honeymoon phase, the players couldn't say enough nice things and the future was full of balloons and flowers.
But things turned rocky quick, Daniels was forced to trade slugger Mark Teixeira during a time when it appeared that Washington was in danger of losing the clubhouse and everybody had to step back and take a breath. The Rangers finished 19 games behind the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West, and frustrated.
Whatever fractures there were between the manager's office and the clubhouse appear mended this spring.
"That was a bunch of crap," shortstop Michael Young says fiercely, defending the manager. "That was weak, that it was written that way."
Says Daniels: "That's in the past. Last year, Ron's personality and energy were a novelty, much my age was the year before (Daniels was 28 when he was hired in 2005, the youngest GM in major league history). You get past that. The game doesn't slow down.
"Ron learned a lot last year. He has the same passion for the game. He has the same infectious personality. It was his first year of managing at the big league level, and he learned a lot."
Hamilton is the kind of player who, if healthy, can make Washington -- or any other manager -- look a whole lot smarter than he was before. The trade surprised him, but he appears to have fit into his new surroundings beautifully, and he's perfectly happy where he is.
"I felt wanted in Cincinnati, but with Texas, I feel like I'm a piece of the puzzle they're putting together," he says. "I feel like here I'm needed and wanted at the same time."
The luxury that one year in the bigs has given Hamilton is that, unlike last spring, there's no need for force-feeding to see whether he really can do this. Washington is making sure he gets enough at-bats, but there's no need to play Hamilton every day.
And from the perspective of Hamilton, an imposing 6-feet-4, 235 pounds, there's no longer any reason to be maniacal about his work.
"I was overworking myself in Cincinnati last year," he says. "I was at the park early every day hitting in the cage, then going to early hitting on the field, then batting practice. I was taking 200 swings every day before the game. That's probably why I wound up with the wrist injury later in the year.
"Now, it's more quality than quantity. Your body can only take so much."
This from a man who, after all he's put it through over the past several years, should know the body better than anyone.
The Rangers are thrilled to have him -- especially given the show he has been putting on this spring. Kind of gets the imagination working overtime when dreaming of the coming season.
"To do what he did last year after having three seasons off is just incredible," Young says. "If he stays healthy, the sky's the limit."
The sky, Flagstaff, or whatever other cities happen to be within, say, a few hundred miles of whatever ballpark Hamilton is swinging in on a given night. The way the ball's jumping off of his bat right now, anything seems within reach.
Especially if Hamilton is able to rack up the first goal he has set for himself this season: 500 at-bats.