Billy Hamilton's mere presence scared John Lackey into a balk
Hamilton's mere presence forces Lackey to balk
Billy Hamilton is fast. Billy Hamilton is so fast that we call him, well, if you've got a good speed-based nickname, let us know. He's only four games into the season and he's already 7-for-7 in stolen bases.
Wait, you might be thinking, he already has seven SBs in only four games? Is that some kind of record? Answer: Almost! During Friday's game against the Cardinals, Hamilton stole second in the bottom of the eighth, joining Vince Coleman as the only player since 1900 to rack up seven or more stolen bases in the first four games of a season
But he doesn't even need to run to steal bases anymore. In the fifth inning, Hamilton's mere presence on first was so unnerving that it tricked John Lackey into trying for a pickoff:
That's what you see when you look up "balk" in the dictionary. Billy Hamilton is a one man "Ocean's 11." His heist of second was so good it didn't look like theft at all.