Texas Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton (32) grimmaces after being tagged out at home plate in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Tuesday, April 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Josh Hamilton, last year’s American League MVP will be out for six to eight weeks after a failed attempt to score from third base on a pop-up in foul territory.
Hamilton broke his upper right arm after his headfirst slide to home plate against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
The Texas Rangers outfielder tagged up from third base when both, third baseman Brandon Inge and catcher Victor Martinez, were chasing after a pop-up in foul territory, and nobody was covering home plate.
“It was a stupid play,” Hamilton told the Associated Press. “The whole time the ball was in the air, the coach was yelling, ‘Go, there’s no one at home,’ and I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this, something is going to happen.’
He was referring to third base coach Dave Anderson who wanted Hamilton to tag up.
“It was way too aggressive. Maybe if they had both been closer to me, but they had a perfect angle to cut me off, and the only way to avoid a tag in that situation is to go head first,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
The Tigers won the game 5-4 in the ninth inning after a RBI single from Miguel Cabrera.
“We play an aggressive style of baseball,” Rangers GM told the Associated Press defending Anderson’s call to send Hamilton. “The chances of getting hurt on that play are minimal.”
