SURPRISE, Ariz. When on the run, Royals slender and somewhat gangly outfielder Billy Hamilton becomes a near-perfect combination of explosion, flexibility and coordination.
The 6-foot, 160-pound Mississippi native glides around the outfield grass and the basepaths, seemingly floating on top of them.
Regarded as the fastest man in baseball, Hamilton turns his speed into artistry not unlike a bird in flight. Yet, throughout his career hes also played the part of a caged bird.
Only in his case, hed been held captive by the batters box and the expectations that weighed on him every time he grabbed a bat. He enters his first season on the Royals with a resolve to break out as a hitter.
I keep coming here every single day having the confidence, Hamilton said seated at his locker in the clubhouse of the Royals spring training facility in Arizona. Thats one thing I havent had my whole career hitting-wise is confidence. Im learning to have that too.
The Royals know exactly what they acquired when they signed Hamilton, 28, this offseason. The speed, the defense, the inconsistency at the plate all of it was understood before Hamilton joined the club. More than understood, it was accepted.
If Hamilton only provides tremendous defense and nearly unparalleled speed, hell be worth it, the Royals say. But theres also a certitude inside the walls of the Royals facility that theres more baseball artistry to extract from Hamilton.
Im not putting any limitations on him, but we got him for a specific reason and so everything else he does along the way is gravy for us, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. Theres no unrealistic expectations on him, but were not putting any limitations on him. We believe that hell play much better offensively as the year goes out, as the year unfolds, as the year continues to develop.
I think hell just do better because of mindset, frame of mind, and we really believe in him.
HAMILTON, a second-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds who Mississippi State recruited to play football out of high school, built a reputation that preceded him onto the national stage. His 155 minor league stolen bases in 2012 established a professional baseball record.
Since his first full season in the majors in 2014, nobody has stolen more bases than Hamiltons 264. He enters this season with an 81 percent success rate. Hes stolen 50 bases or more four times, and there have only been nine 50-steal seasons in the majors since 2014.
The more he can learn to get on base consistently because when he gets on base he screws the whole game up hes a game-changer, said Terry Francona, manager of the AL Central Division-favorite Cleveland Indians. The pitcher worries about him. The catcher worries about him. We worry about him.
Then you end up throwing a pitch belt high to the next hitter because youre worried about him. It screws up the whole game. Its stressful for everybody when hes on base.
Defensively, Hamilton has ranked among the majors top five center fielders in FanGraphs ultimate zone rating each season since 2014. He also leads all active center fielders in total zone runs (the number of runs above average the player was worth based on the number of plays made) as calculated by Baseball-Reference.com.
