Hamilton Records MLB's 1st 5-Steal Game in More Than 2 Years

When Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton snagged third base in the 10th inning of Sunday's game against the Chicago Cubs, he became the first player to steal five bases in a game since Jacoby Ellsbury on May 30, 2013, per ESPN Stats & Info.

In fact, Hamilton recorded just the 23rd game in which a player had five or more steals in major league history, dating back to 1914, per Baseball-Reference.com. He did so despite reaching base just three times in the contest, making his feat more impressive than that of many of the other players who did it previously.

What's more, the final stolen base gave him 100 for his career in just 219 games, making him the third-quickest to reach the milestone, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info). Only Vince Coleman (135) and Tim Raines (162) required fewer games to reach the century mark.

Hamilton began the campaign as Cincinnati's leadoff hitter because of his speed on the basepaths, and he has hit in that spot 33 games this season. However, his inability to reach base consistently led to a drop in the order late in May, and he's now hit at the very bottom 18 times.

The speedster has been a bit better since moving to the No. 9 hole, batting .254 compared to just .212 in the top spot. He's also reached base at a higher clip, sporting a .288 OBP versus just .264 batting first.

While Hamilton's play has picked up, the Reds have dropped off, falling 13 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals heading into Monday's contest against the Detroit Tigers. The team has been linked to trade rumors involving star closer Aroldis Chapman and ace Johnny Cueto, as the Reds may look to rebuild moving forward.

Although the Reds will likely begin retooling the roster at some point this season, Hamilton remains under team control through 2020, making him a large piece to build around. If he can figure out how to turn his speed into a high on-base percentage, he could become a fixture atop the Reds batting order for years to come.