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IL St. Paul Saints

Shifting into High Gear: Speedster Hamilton Added to Saints Roster

August 30, 2022 - International League (IL)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN - The St. Paul Saints swiped a Triple-A season high nine bases on Saturday. They collected two more on Sunday. The renewed running game is about to add even more speed. The recently signed free agent Billy Hamilton, who holds the single-season Minor League stolen base record with 155, was transferred from the FCL Twins to the St. Paul Saints.

The Twins mark the eighth organization that Hamilton has been a part of, having spent most of his career with Cincinnati (2009-18) followed by Kansas City (2019), Atlanta (2019), San Francisco (2020), New York (NL) (2020), Chicago (NL) (2020), Chicago (AL) (2021), adding Seattle and Miami this year before signing with Minnesota. He has 321 steals in 392 attempts across 931 MLB games, ranking third among active players behind Elvis Andrus (325) and Dee Strange-Gordon (336).

Hamilton, 31, saw 20 games of Major League action with the Marlins before he was sent outright from Miami to Triple-A Jacksonville on August 13, but elected free agency and signed with the Twins on August 27. Hamilton had one hit in 13 at-bats with the Marlins, while going seven-for-seven in stolen base attempts.

Opening the 2022 campaign with the Mariners organization, Hamilton played in 22 games with their Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. He hit .186 with the Rainiers, stealing four bases. The Taylorsville, MS native elected free agency on June 1 before signing with Miami on June 20.

Hamilton played 71 games with the White Sox in 2021, fighting around three different stints on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, followed by a right oblique strain. He hit .220 with two home runs, 11 RBI and nine steals in as many attempts.

In the shortened 2020 season, Hamilton made his way to three different clubs, starting with the Giants. He signed on February 9, was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training and spent the start of the season at the Alternate Training Site. On August 2 he was traded to the Mets in exchange for RHP Jordan Humphreys and was recalled by the Mets two days later. In 17 games with the Mets, Hamilton had one hit in 22 at-bats, with three steals in four tries. He was designated for assignment on September 4 and claimed off waivers by the Cubs three days later. Hamilton finished the year strong, going 3-10 with a home run.

The 2019 season was split between the Royals and Braves. He signed with Kansas City on December 18, 2018, playing in 93 games with the Royals in 2019 before being designated for assignment on August 16. Hamilton hit .211 while driving in 12 runs and swiping 18 bases in 23 attempts with Kansas City. On August 19, the Braves claimed him off waivers. Hamilton finished the season hitting .286 in 26 games with Atlanta. He swiped 22 bases in 28 tries.

Since being drafted by the Reds in 2009, Hamilton spent the first nine years of his career in their organization, earning four MiLB.com Organizational All-Star nods from 2010-13. He swiped an incredible 103 bases at High-A Dayton in 2011 and then came back in 2012 and set a Minor League record with 155 steals between High-A Bakersfield and Double-A Pensacola. He was a two-time Futures Game pick in 2012 and 2013. He made his MLB debut on September 3, 2013, going 7-19 in the final 13 games of the season, swiping 13 bags in 14 attempts.

He jumped on the scene in 2014, earning National League Rookie of the Month honors for June, topping that with a Baseball America Major League All-Rookie Team distinction after the season. From 2014-18 he finished second in the NL in stolen bases each year, topping 50 steals from 2014-17, where he swiped a career-best 59 bases. That total finished just one shy of Strange-Gordon, who stole 60 bases. Nobody in Major League Baseball has stolen more than 47 since.

Hamilton was selected by the Reds in the second round of the 2009 draft from Taylorsville High School.

The Saints roster now stands at 31, two shy of the league maximum, with 16 pitchers and 15 position players.

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