After a brutal 2013 season, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton began the 2014 season with an incredible run at the plate. Unfortunately, though, Hamilton’s hot streak has come to a crashing halt due to a left thumb injury, and he won’t be able to resume it for at least six weeks.
MRI on Angels OF Josh Hamilton reveals complete tear of UCL in left thumb and torn capsule. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
— MLB (@MLB) April 9, 2014
Earlier in the day on Wednesday, it was revealed that X-rays on Hamilton’s injured thumb came back clean, but the more advanced diagnostics of an MRI revealed a torn ligament, and that is something that simply can’t avoid a great deal of down time. The 32-year-old Hamilton has put up a .444/.545/.741 slash line (1.286 OPS) with 2 home runs in his first 33 plate appearances this season, and frankly, the timing of this is terrible.
As if the injury wasn’t bad enough, it was suffered when Hamilton elected to slide into first base (!), which is universally recognized as a foolish maneuver. The Angels probably won’t be dwelling on that for the next 6 to 8 weeks, but rather, they will bemoan the loss of their best left-handed power source, and players like Kole Calhoun, Collin Cowgill and the ageless Raul Ibanez will have the opportunity to step up in his place.