How valuable is Billy Hamilton?

[Wheelhouse]

With the extra-inning man on second base? An interesting thought... what percentage of games go to extra innings? What does that do to his WAR?

[Ron Madden]

I don't know...

We're supposed to have the most competitive club we've had in years and some folks want to bring Cozart and Hamilton back into the fold.

[Rolando]

I don't know...

We're supposed to have the most competitive club we've had in years and some folks want to bring Cozart and Hamilton back into the fold.

Hamilton will definitely add some value in certain spots

[westofyou]

The Reds played 15 extra inning games last year , 9.2% of all their contests, 11 of those were as visitors.

I suppose the question is this, Is Billy Hamilton worth a roster spot to start on 2b in an extra inning game?

If 10% of the Reds games are extra inning affairs that would be six games, if all six on the road what's the worth of having Billy Hamilton on 2b at the start of that inning?

Not enough to carry a minute .242/.297/.326/.623 batting line

[klw]

Is Hamilton on the Giants 60 man pool roster?

[Bourgeois Zee]

The Reds played 15 extra inning games last year , 9.2% of all their contests, 11 of those were as visitors.

I suppose the question is this, Is Billy Hamilton worth a roster spot to start on 2b in an extra inning game?

If 10% of the Reds games are extra inning affairs that would be six games, if all six on the road what's the worth of having Billy Hamilton on 2b at the start of that inning?

Not enough to carry a minute .242/.297/.326/.623 batting line

As a defensive caddy/ fifth OF/ extra inning pinch runner, his unique skill set(s) could see a massive payoff.

They could just as easily see him as a below replacement level guy.

If I had an extra spot, I'd love to have that weapon, but I'd have to be sure my manager would use it properly. Over 60 games, if Hamilton has the bat in his hands 10 times, it's too many.

[KronoRed]

He's about to be 30 and his SB rate has dropped the last 2 years.

[RedsManRick]

With the extra-inning man on second base? An interesting thought... what percentage of games go to extra innings? What does that do to his WAR?

They talked about this at length on the Effectively Wild podcast. They had somebody run all the numbers and I believe the net effect was something like 0.3 WAR. He's extremely valuable in this situation, but the reality is that it's simply not a situation that happens all that frequently.

[TOG]

Billy Hamilton is so valuable.

He was non tendered/dfa by 2 of the worst teams in the league (reds and royals).

Last year he had the lowest percentage of hard hit balls of any major leaguer

And now he’s signed a minor league contract with another horrible team

And He averages about 1.2 WAR per full season played.

So he’s useless and adds zero value.

[DocRed]

Hamilton is more than just an extra innings base runner. He is an excellent defender and could be used at any time as a base runner. In a 60 game season even winning 1 extra inning game could vault a team into the playoff. There is no question he is more valuable this year than last and deserves a spot on someone's team if not ours. Especially when you consider expanded rosters this season.

[DocRed]

They talked about this at length on the Effectively Wild podcast. They had somebody run all the numbers and I believe the net effect was something like 0.3 WAR. He's extremely valuable in this situation, but the reality is that it's simply not a situation that happens all that frequently.

If that's 0.3WAR in a 60 game season then that's equivalent to 0.8WAR in a full season. Which is more than Barnhart, Senzel, Winker, Farmer, JVM, and Galvis had last year. Keep in mind the MVP this year is likely to only have a 3.0WAR this year.

[TOG]

Hamilton is more than just an extra innings base runner. He is an excellent defender and could be used at any time as a base runner. In a 60 game season even winning 1 extra inning game could vault a team into the playoff. There is no question he is more valuable this year than last and deserves a spot on someone's team if not ours. Especially when you consider expanded rosters this season.

Lol. Reds fans are hilarious

[kaldaniels]

If that's 0.3WAR in a 60 game season then that's equivalent to 0.8WAR in a full season. Which is more than Barnhart, Senzel, Winker, Farmer, JVM, and Galvis had last year. Keep in mind the MVP this year is likely to only have a 3.0WAR this year.

The 0.3 WAR seems to be an adjustment just from the extra innings rule. You also need to factor in his expected WAR outside of that and the opportunity cost of a lost roster spot. (What would we expect, maybe 5 extra inning games?)

As for those other guys, it speaks more about their “lousy” 2019 than it does of Billy. I expect much more of most of them.

[Bruce Berenyi]

YES BUT DESPITE THEIR "LOUSY" 2019 people would rather have senzel, winker, than aquino????????????

[M2]

The Reds played 15 extra inning games last year , 9.2% of all their contests, 11 of those were as visitors.

I suppose the question is this, Is Billy Hamilton worth a roster spot to start on 2b in an extra inning game?

If 10% of the Reds games are extra inning affairs that would be six games, if all six on the road what's the worth of having Billy Hamilton on 2b at the start of that inning?

Not enough to carry a minute .242/.297/.326/.623 batting line

I'm going to disagree. If there's a player that can win you a lopsided amount of your closest contents and that's 10% of your season, that's pretty valuable. I think it's actually more valuable this season for two reasons:

- The factors that separate teams over the long haul of a normal 162-game season will not have the time to create those separations in 2020. You can't grind a team off your tail in a short sprint. It's not not a distance race anymore. You've just got to go full-tilt for the tape. So if there's a guy who can give you an extra 10% boost, that's going to make a major difference in a season where the gaps are going to be marginal.

- A lot of teams won't have a guy like Hamilton this season. If the extra inning rule becomes standard and rosters are permanently expanded, I'd expect most teams would have a guy like, which would shift it from being an advantage for the teams that have a burner to a disadvantage for the teams that don't. But for this season, he'll probably be the exception, not the rule.

Mind you, Hamilton might not be a guy who can steal 3B at will these days. There's a difference between fast and elite, and you've got to be elite to make yourself a near-automatic run on 2B with no outs.