How to Explain Josh Hamilton's Improvement During Day Games

It was one of the biggest mysteries concerning Josh Hamilton‘s ability on the field. During the past couple seasons, he was a superstar during night games but looked somewhat mortal when the sun was up.

It should be noted that Hamilton’s at bats during the evening more than double his amount during day games. But, his stats still told an interesting story. 

During the 121 games he played in 2011, Hamilton hit just .220 with one home run in the afternoon. When the lights came on, he was a totally different player, hitting .324 with 24 homers. Even in 2010 when he won the AL MVP and the batting title, Hamilton’s .286 average during the day was in stark contrast to the .384 he hit at night. 

In the small sample of the 2012 season, those issues seem to be behind him. Off to a torrid start, the lefty is hitting .500 with four home runs. It’s pretty unlikely he continues this pace, but it is definitely an encouraging sign for Hamilton and the Rangers. 

Hamilton told Richard Durrett a couple reasons for his resurgence are eye drops and sunglasses that he is more comfortable with. 

Whatever the reason might be, this ultimately seems like one of the those things in baseball that is difficult to fully decipher. It’s not as if Hamilton had this problem his entire baseball career.

He has played plenty of day games during his life. A ton of Little League and high school games are played in the afternoon, yet he still managed to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. 

Hamilton is a talented enough player that it should come as no surprise he figured out the problem eventually. 

In the end, it should certainly intimidate opposing pitchers if he is able to closely duplicate his night game numbers during the day.