Top 106 Baseball Players: #95 - Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton

Billy Hamilton is the name of a current Major League baseball player, but it is also the name of one of the all-time greats, and this ranking belongs to the old-time Hall of Famer. Hamilton was one of the greatest baserunners of all time, as well as an incredible batter.

Hamilton reached the majors in 1888 with the Kansas City Cowboys, and in his first full season he led all players with 111 stolen bases while also batting .301, which would be the lowest average he would have until his final season, and it would be a sign of things to come.

After his second season, the Cowboys folded, so he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he led the Majors in 5 categories in his second season, with a .340 average, 141 runs, 179 hits, 102 walks, and another 111 steals, and that wasn't even his best season.

In 1894 he set a record that still stands, scoring 198 runs, a number that no one has even approached, with Babe Ruth's 177 in 1921 the next highest. He also stole 100 bases and walked 128 times, both also tops in the league, while batting .403, which was only good for fifth that year, and was only the fourth-best on his own team.

Over the course of his career, he led the league in stolen bases 5 times, and his career total stood at 937 when he retired, a number that wouldn't be matched until Lou Brock stole his final base in 1979. The number has since been adjusted to 914 after reviewing box scores due to different rules on counting steals in the 1800's, but he is still #3 all time, trailing only Brock and Rickey Henderson.

He is also one of 3 players in history to average more than one run scored per game over his career, and his on-base percentage in #4 in history, behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and John McGraw. He was also the first player ever to hit a leadoff and game-ending home run in the same game, something that has happened only 4 times since, and that's even more impressive considering that his biggest season only contained 7 home runs.

While many will try to discount his accomplishments because of the era in which he played, the fact is that Hamilton was a great player for many years, easily the best baserunner of his era, and one of the best ever at getting on base and scoring runs, so he deserves to be included as one of the all-time greats.