Red Sox prospect David Hamilton had the greatest debut EVER
David Hamilton was the “other” piece in the return for Hunter Renfroe. When the Boston Red Sox sent the outfielder to the Milwaukee Brewers, everyone was talking about Jackie Bradley Jr. coming back – as well as top prospect Alex Binelas.
And in his first game in the organization, Binelas went 2-for-4 – showing quickly he can be a seriously valuable asset. It was Hamilton that made his mark immediately though. Not only did he make his mark, but the second baseman might have just put together the greatest debut of all time.
That’s a bold proclamation, right? But seriously, did you see his game? Hamilton led off for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. In his first at-bat, he roped a triple, showing off his ridiculous speed. He would later score on an Izzy Wilson double.
His next at-bat saw the left-handed hitter smoke a two-run home run. Then came an RBI single in his next time up. Finally getting a chance to show off his absurd speed, Hamilton promptly stole second base.
We were now in the sixth inning when Hamilton came up to the plate again. He was just a double shy of the cycle. Can you guess what he did? Well, no … he didn’t get a double. See that was too obvious and boring for Hamilton. Instead, he hit a grand slam.
The 24-year-old would record an out in his final at-bat. But going 4-for-5 with a triple, two home runs, three runs scored, seven RBI, and a steal is just stupid. He even flashed the leather and showed off some fun potential in the field.
Now, we shouldn’t expect insane home run power from Hamilton. He hit eight bombs in 101 games (403 at-bats) at-bats last season. But 15-plus isn’t out of the question. And expect him to add quite a few doubles and triples in there as well. Oh, and remember that speed I was talking about? Yeah, he stole 52 bases last year – so get ready for that.
David Hamilton wasn’t really on the radar when the Boston Red Sox brought him over. Not that he was bad or anything. Just that he was not the top prospect in the trade. Everything else about that move seemed to interest the media more than him. And entering a stacked Boston system, it made sense that Hamilton might not get all the headlines.
He’s getting them now though. Was that the greatest debut of all time? It’s really hard to think of a better one. And the tools are there to make a phenomenal player. Did the Red Sox just get a major steal? Or was this just one game and I should stop hyping things up too much? Well too bad, you know I like to get excited. And Hamilton 100% deserves the praise. Put up the statue, induct him into the Hall of Fame, retire his number, and give him a lifetime contract right now Boston you absolute cowards – do it.