Is Josh Hamilton the New Rick Ankiel?
Baseball, Drugs July 15th. 2008, 10:40am
Watched a Gossip Girl rerun and then switched over to the home run derby for a minute. Got to see Lance Berkman swat a few, listen to Rick Reilly’s racial take, and then looked on in awe as Josh Hamilton burrowed his way into the nation’s hearts by mashing 13 homers in a row, and a record-setting 28 in the first round.
Does anyone else think The Natural when they see a lefty raking? Factoring in their career arc and their home run prowess, who’s more ‘The Natural,’ Rick Ankiel of St. Louis or Josh Hamilton of Texas? (Yes, considering Ankiel’s HGH history, there’s irony here.)
Another thought: Don’t care what Cincy got in return, but how could they trade Hamilton?
19 Responses to “Is Josh Hamilton the New Rick Ankiel?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Hamilton is the Natural. Numerous scouts called him the best hitter they’ve ever seen before he was drafted. i remember one scout said on Real Sports that Hamilton could hit a ball 500 feet on a regular basis. i wish we could’ve seen him have a full career. who knows what he would be doing if he was just entering the prime age for a slugger?
July 15th, 2008 at 10:50 AM
their both The Naturals. hamilton might be a better hitter, but ankiel is a better fielder. both rock, so who cares.
cincy traded hamilton because they had jay bruce and needed pitching? i dunno.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:50 AM
fucking bad grammar.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:52 AM
1)You can’t compare Hamilton to Ankiel. Ankiel used HGH. Hamilton used Heroin.
2)The Reds fucked up.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:55 AM
I got to see Hamilton play a couple times in Cincy last year, the fans absolutely loved him. He was already a great story April last year, and in a city that is struggling to fill their new ballpark; keeping Hamilton should’ve been a no-brainer.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:58 AM
what a horrible comparison. Ankiel is a known cheater. Calling him “natural” is a joke
Hamilton is the obvious “natural”. I cant stop saying it, Hamilton is a great story. Booo to all those people who tried to compare Jon Lesters story to his
July 15th, 2008 at 10:58 AM
the reds didnt fuck up that bad. they got a pretty good player in return in edison volquez, who is 24 and has an ERA+ of 195 after pitching 117 innings thus far. also i know its all love for hamilton know but in the SI article about him they talk about what a pain in the ass it is to have a guy like hamilton in the locker room. not saying pros shouldnt be above that but i can imagine getting pretty fucking annoyed at hamilton and all the baggage he brings with him.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:00 AM
i’m just glad the Cubs don’t still have him (after taking him in the Rule V draft). if he was there, we would probably never know of Felix Pie or his twisted testicle.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:02 AM
I just think Griffey, and nobody else.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:07 AM
When I see Rick Ankiel, I see the back of Will Lietch’s head.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:12 AM
@nwilson – Yeah, to me lefty=Griffey. I like the Natural, but I think I’m a little too young to be totally in love with the character.
But yeah, Hamilton would have to be the Natural if Ankiel is the other choice. And the Reds didn’t do too bad in that trade. Both players are in the All-Star game, aren’t they? Though there is something to be said for having a story like Hamilton’s on your squad. That story may mean more ticket sales for the Rangers.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:13 AM
I’m with kendynamo on this one. Volquez is a damn good pitcher and pitching has always been a weak point with the Reds. With him and Cueto they have a pretty good future 1-2 bunch at starting pitching. Plus the reds have adam dunn so why in the world would they need another power hitter.
Oh wait, adam dunn sucks donkey turds.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:14 AM
/fixed
July 15th, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Yes, boo to all those people who compared Hamilton to John Lester. John Lester didn’t take two years off to smoke crack like a loser, he just got cancer instead.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:23 AM
@sportsgal- its Jon, not John
July 15th, 2008 at 11:26 AM
man, i remember when this website used to work, and work well. those were the good old days
July 15th, 2008 at 11:34 AM
sparty, that made no sense, but I appreciate the effort.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:57 AM
yeah, i fucked it up, i meant to do more with it…too much work going on
July 15th, 2008 at 11:58 AM
What Hamilton has done is the stuff of fiction books, like The Natural. The guy didn’t play ball for 4+ years. Not a bit of ball. Nothing. No BP, no swings, no competition. He comes back and just completely makes major league pitching look like Little Leaguers.
I’m not condoning what Hamilton did. There has been much made of it. I’m glad he’s clean for now. And, it sounds like its a daily struggle to keep things in the right and that it could possibly go wrong on any day.
However, just from a baseball standpoint, what Hamilton has done is BEYOND anything that baseball has given us in a long time, if not ever. I stand in awe of what Hamilton has done…