Billy R. Hamilton (born September 9, 1990) is an American professional baseball center fielder in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox. The Reds selected Hamilton in the second round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2013.
Known for his speed, Hamilton holds the Minor League Baseball single-season stolen base record with 155 steals—10 higher than the previous Minor League record set by Vince Coleman. He also holds the Cincinnati Reds record for most stolen bases by a rookie in a season, and stole 230 bases from 2014 to 2017, the most of any player in MLB over that time period. He ranked third in steals among all MLB players in the 2010s with 299 steals in the decade.
Early career
Amateur career
Hamilton attended Taylorsville High School in Taylorsville, Mississippi, where he was all-state in baseball, football and basketball. He was a top football prospect at wide receiver, signing a letter of intent to play college football at Mississippi State University.
Minor league career
The Cincinnati Reds selected Hamilton in the second round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.
Prior to the 2011 season, Hamilton was ranked by Baseball America as the 50th-best prospect in baseball. That season, while playing for the Dayton Dragons, Hamilton became the 12th minor league player to have 100 stolen bases in a season, and the first since 2001. He finished the 2011 season with 104 total stolen bases and hit .278/.340/.360. Prior to 2012, Baseball America ranked Hamilton as the 48th-best prospect. MLB rated Hamilton as the 31st-best prospect, fourth-best shortstop, and the second-best prospect in the Reds organization behind catcher Devin Mesoraco.
On August 21, 2012, Hamilton stole a record 146th base in his 120th game of the season for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The record was previously held by Vince Coleman for the Class A Macon Redbirds, set in 1983. He finished the 2012 season with 155 stolen bases and hit .311/.410/.420.
After the 2012 season, the Reds announced that Hamilton, who originally played shortstop, would move to center field for 2013. Bill Bavasi, the Reds' vice president of scouting and player development, told MLB.com that the move was made for several reasons, including the fact that two other established shortstops, Zack Cozart and Didi Gregorius, were already on the roster.
Prior to the 2013 season, Hamilton was ranked as the Reds' best prospect by Baseball America. For the season with the Louisville Bats, in 123 games he stole 75 bases and hit .256/.308/.343.
Major League career
Cincinnati Reds
The Reds promoted Hamilton to the major leagues on September 2, 2013, and made his debut on September 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals as a pinch runner for Ryan Ludwick. He stole second base off Yadier Molina, and came around to score on a Todd Frazier double. Hamilton appeared in four major league games as a pinch runner until September 10 when, in the seventh inning, he replaced Shin-Soo Choo in center field and also made his batting debut, going 0-for-2 in a loss at home to the Chicago Cubs.
Hamilton made his first start on September 18, 2013, in a Reds road win over the Houston Astros. Playing center field and batting ninth, in his first at-bat of the game he notched his first Major League hit, a second-inning double to left field off Astros' starter Brad Peacock, and later got his first run batted in, driving in Todd Frazier with an infield single. For the game (which went 13 innings), Hamilton reached base five times, going 3-for-4 with two walks, two runs scored, one RBI, and four stolen bases in four attempts off four pitchers. Hamilton became the first Major League player since 1920 to steal four bases in his first Major League start. In his first 10 times on base, he stole nine bases and scored six runs. He was successful in his first 13 steal attempts, before being thrown out on his 14th attempt.