Josh Hamilton not missed by Texas Rangers fans

It has been 733 days since Josh Hamilton last played in a Texas Rangers uniform. Just a little over 2 years ago, which almost seems like an eternity now. In baseball years it probably is an eternity.

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When he first started with the Texas Rangers fans couldn’t get enough of him. He quickly rose to being a fan favorite and more often than not it seemed like he’d crush one out of the park to grab the lead or two win the game.

He was almost the hero in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series by hitter a 2-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Texas Rangers a 9-7 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The fireworks always seemed amazing and everyone probably hoped it would never end. But, things started to sour during his free-agency year. Josh Hamilton had early success in 2012 and had a monster game in Baltimore by hitting 4 home runs in a row.

It seems like it wasn’t too long after that things started to go downhill. Maybe it was just Josh being Josh or just a part of who he is that caused the decline. When talking about decline, it seemed like it was a decline in his attitude towards the Texas Rangers, and maybe baseball in general. His stats started to decline and some fans thought he outright quit on the team.

Now that he’s been with the Los Angeles Angels for 2 seasons now it seems to be that most Texas Rangers fans are still glad he’s gone. It probably doesn’t help that he’s continue to struggle a bit, although he still has flashes of the 2010 and 2011 Hamilton. During the 2014 ALDS against the Kansas City Royals he went 0-13. It seems like even Angels fans are not sure what to think of him or if they do it isn’t favorable.

Even if it was possible many Rangers fans wouldn’t want to have Hamilton back with the Rangers. It does make sense, many feel like he burned the bridge with the way he played with the Rangers and some of the comments he made about the fans and town.

Maybe it was this play that defined his lack of care.

Watching that play was very tough as a fan of the Rangers and of Josh Hamilton. The fielding error wasn’t on purpose and more than likely his reaction was just Josh being Josh. Should fans miss Hamilton? Yes, maybe a little bit, because he did give the Texas Rangers several good years and did help them reach the World Series twice. Things haven’t gone exactly they way he or the Angels have hoped over the last 2 seasons. Right now Texas Rangers fans don’t seem to miss him and if he some how parted ways with the Angels, it would seem their fans wouldn’t miss him either.

Hopefully during the offseason he’ll be able to get healthy again and bounce back. He’s only 33 years old and should have several quality years left. If he’s able to turn things around he could have a strong finish to his career. I was a bit amazed when I Tweeted if fans would like to ever see him back in Texas. There was a flood of negative responses and nos to the question. Only a few would ponder the possibility, but overall fans wouldn’t want him back in Texas. If there was chance to have him back and a chance Josh could be the same he was in 2010 or 2011 then I would say yes. But, it doesn’t seem he’s able to do that. I do hope he does find a way to dig down and find the same player that everyone loved and cheered for while in Arlington.

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