Joey Votto is one of the most underrated players in baseball and that's because he's been an elite hitter during his entire career, but no one really cares because he's in Cincinnati. He strikes fear into every opponent, yet when the Cubs play the Reds, fans are more scared of a career .245 hitter than Votto.
Billy Hamilton truly is the definition of a Cubs-killer because we're not talking about Albert Pujols, who's had a great career and was a monster against the Cubs. We're talking about Hamilton, who has a career slash line of .245/.298/.333, and despite his limitations on offense just torments the Cubs.
And guess what, he's now a free agent after the Reds decided to non-tender him Friday night.
There are only two other teams Hamilton has better numbers against than the Cubs during his career. He owns the Giants and Rockies too, but Hamilton's OBP and OPS are 52 and 112(!) points higher than his career average against the Cubs.
And you know what, despite how much he simply can't hit, Billy Hamilton would actually fit in with the Cubs perfectly. I mean, you know how bad he is offensively when he's not playing the Cubs, but his speed and defense are top notch. He'd be the perfect fourth outfielder on the Cubs roster, who Joe Maddon could use frequently in late-inning situations either to sub in the outfield, or come in to steal a base, or two and occasionally get a start. In 2018, Hamilton was second with 34 stolen bases in the National League, while only having a .299 OBP. The biggest problem with Hamilton is that he simply isn't good enough to be an every-day starter, which he's been with the Reds. If he's willing to accept a backup role on a winning club, his skill set can be maximized with less playing time. You can take a look at some of the other players who were non-tendered by clicking on this link. But sign me up for Billy Hamilton as the fourth outfielder with the Cubs. And well, at the very least hopefully Hamilton signs outside the division and doesn't haunt Jon Lester anymore.
