Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
For one of few times in his life, Billy Hamilton made a catcher happy.
“I’m glad I don’t have to deal with trying to throw him out,” Buster Posey said Friday.
The Giants are bringing in the speed-demon center fielder, one of the fastest players in baseball, on a minor league deal with an invitation to major league camp, as a team heavy on options lands a devastating, if one-dimensional one.
Hamilton, the 29-year-old switcher hitter, has not shown enough at the plate to establish himself as a major league regular, slashing .218/.289/.275 in 119 games split between Kansas City and Atlanta last season. His 22 steals — and the pressure he puts on defenses — stands out as unique in today’s game, and the Giants may have a new late-game weapon for at least part of this season.
“When you’re in a close ballgame and you got a Billy Hamilton on base, you can’t quantify how he disrupts the pitcher and the whole ball of wax … it makes your job a whole lot tougher,” third-base coach Ron Wotus said on KNBR at FanFest on Saturday, adding he’s excited about the baserunning progress that Antoan Richardson will be overseeing.
Hamilton was not able to find a major league deal, and he may have to work his way up from Triple-A Sacramento. The pop is near nonexistent, 21 home runs in 3,089 plate appearances, but his outstanding defense and baserunning make him a different kind of platoon option. The Giants have targeted batters who excel in one area, perhaps against righties or lefties. Now they have someone who excels on the basepaths and in center field.
And someone Posey will be happy to have in his clubhouse.
“Ugh,” was the catcher’s reaction when asked about Hamilton on base. “He can definitely be a headache. And when you see what he does to the infield defense when he comes up, I mean, the shortstop’s playing almost on the grass, it feels like the third baseman is almost at the pitcher’s mound. Yeah, he’s not fun for a catcher.”