Editor’s Note: This is our first post from our newest contributor, Ryan, all the way from Lexington, Kentucky. Ryan knows and loves gear, and delivered an accurate profile here. Moving forward, Ryan will be a big addition to the research team here at WPW.
When you hear the phrase, “fastest man in baseball,” who comes to mind? Jacoby Ellsbury? Ben Revere? Andrew McCutchen? Well, what if I told you there’s a new fastest man in baseball? And he hasn’t played a Major League game yet?
Enter Billy Hamilton. With his blistering speed, Hamilton has Reds fans anxiously awaiting his arrival, which may even be some time this year. Last season, Hamilton swiped a Minor League Baseball record 155 stolen bases in 132 games between High-A Bakersfield and AA Pensacola. As for this year? As of July 23rd, Hamilton’s already stolen 58 bases in 88 games with AAA Louisville.
“How fast is Billy Hamilton?” you may ask. Last year, on an inside-the-park home run, Hamilton circled the bases in 13.8 seconds—the fastest time ever recorded since Wezen-Ball.com started their “Tater Trot Tracker.” Good. Lord.
Enough gushing about how fast he is. Let’s get to his equipment.
Bat
Throughout his career, Hamilton has seemed to be very loyal to Slugger, with his choice cut, the D184, appearing to be a cut made famous by “The Hawk,” Andre Dawson (One of Dawson’s game used D184’s found here. Hamilton has been seen swinging this cut with either a Blacksmith finish, or a clear coat/natural barrel with a black handle. Hamilton’s bats are made with Amish Maple, which for consumers, is exclusive to Slugger’s MLB Prime series of bats. (Those can be found at this link.
Batting Gloves
Source: Louisville Bats Facebook
Hamilton wears two different colorways of the Under Armour Yard VI, one of the more popular batting glove models UA sells, in both White/White and White/Black.
Cleats
Hamilton has been blazing his trail to the Show in a pair of Natural Low’s in Black/White that are available at the link above. You can check Hamilton out in those cleats here.
Sleeve
You can see in the photo above Hamilton’s UA sleeve. They’re called shooter’s sleeves because they have a basketball influence but these are the same ones baseball players use too. These sleeves are available at the link above.
