While the Texas Rangers have been struggling badly of late, they are looking forward to the return of slugger Josh Hamilton.
Last year’s AL MVP is set to take batting practice this Friday. The team reports that Hamilton has been feeling good after participating in baseball related activities over the past week.
The outfielder has been out since April 12th and the team originally anticipated he’d be missing 6 to 8 weeks. It seems that he is pretty close to the timeline they laid out when the injury occurred.
Hamilton’s injury gained national attention not only because it involved the reigning American League MVP, but because of the odd circumstances surrounding it. Hamilton broke a bone in his right arm while tagging up at third on a pop up that didn’t leave the infield.
While there was controversy surrounding where fault should be placed regarding the tag up attempt, there is no debate that the Rangers have missed Hamilton. Texas came into their April 12th game against the Tigers with a record of 9-1. Since Hamilton’s injury the team has lost 16 of their past 25 games. The club currently sits one game above .500 (18-17) and has dropped to third in the AL West.