Josh Hamilton Hampered by Groin Injury

Josh Hamilton wasn’t the only Ranger to be silenced last night by Chris Carpenter and the rest of St. Louis’s pitchers.  But, the 2010 MVP sticks out a bit more because of what people know he can do and also what he’s going through.  Hamilton has been dealing with a groin injury since the end of the regular season that’s hampered his ability to hit and hit for power this postseason.

Following Saturday’s series deciding victory over the Tigers, Hamilton told reporters that he felt he was playing at only 50%.  If you only looked at his batting average, you probably wouldn’t have realized that Hamilton was dealing with a strained groin since the end of September.

Hamilton ended the regular season hitting safely in 12 of his final 14 games, maintaining a September OPS of .905.  This postseason Hamilton struggled a bit in the first round, but managed to go 8-26 during the NLCS, good for a batting average of .308.

But, dig deeper and you will see that Hamilton has only posted an OPS of .663 in the playoffs and hasn’t hit a home run since the 23^rd of September.  He did hit four doubles against the Tigers, but Hamilton’s homerless streak can certainly be attributed to his groin injury.

Last night’s showing made it that much more evident that Hamilton is not well.  While the timing is not opportune for Hamilton or the Rangers, the slugger is going to have to push through the pain as the Rangers try and even the series tonight.

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