Josh Hamilton began to sour himself to Texas Rangers fans down the stretch last season when he famously missed a road trip because he drank too much caffeine and couldn't see straight. Of course, at the same time Adrian Beltre was playing with a hernia, but that's beside the point.
The tipping point for Rangers fans was in Game 162 in Oakland as the Rangers and A's were playing for the AL West title on the regular season's final day when Hamilton dropped a pop fly and lazily chased after the ball to give Oakland the lead in an eventual blowout.
Of course, the Rangers lost the next game they played in the AL Wild Card Game when Rangers fans booed Hamilton loudly in his final game as a Ranger, when he saw eight pitches and drove in a run on a double play.
Things haven't been much better for Hamilton this year, as we all know.
That continued on Monday night in Oakland when the A's fans had an awesome bit going: Josh Hamilton Appreciation Night at the Oakland Coliseum. A's fans are known as being passionate, even if they do lack numbers. On Monday night, they were full-force awesome.
Every time Hamilton stepped to the plate in what eventually turned into a 10-8 Oakland win in 19 innings that lasted well into the morning, A's fans cheered him loudly while booing every other Angels hitter. Every time he caught a ball, they cheered. They tossed him Butterfingers candy bars and many other awesome things.
Of course, Hamilton made A's fans appreciate him even more with his performance, as the slumping slugger went 0-for-8 with three more strikeouts and left four baserunners stranded. To be fair, he did have an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Well done, Josh.
