Texas Rangers star Josh Hamilton is having a phenomenal season thus far and has been the front-runner for the AL MVP the entire year, but when the pressure heats up, he will be far less productive than he is right now.
Hamilton has been a great first-half player his entire career, but his second-half performances haven’t always been that great. Anyone who has owned him in fantasy baseball over the last few years will understand that.
He is, of course, in a contract year, which could be one explanation for his recent dominance. Playing for a contract is a huge motivator, but it also puts a lot of pressure on you to do well. The longer Hamilton goes without a new contract, the more pressure will be on him to perform.
The pressure to perform and try to do too much will likely affect Hamilton at some point, and the result could be him struggling at the plate.
Hamilton could also face immense pressure from the media if he keeps up his chase for the Triple Crown. Not since Boston Red Sox star Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 has someone won the American League Triple Crown.
Right now, Hamilton has a nice lead in batting average, home runs and runs batted in. If he starts to make a real run at this achievement, he will be asked questions about it all the time, and like many before him, he will struggle against the Triple Crown pressure.
Then there’s the playoffs, where Hamilton has not performed well in during his two career postseasons. His career batting average in the playoffs is .234, and he has 21 strikeouts in 33 games.
Since the Rangers have lost the last two World Series, and have another great shot to get back there this season, Hamilton will be expected to dominate in the playoffs just as he does in the regular season.
This will be a major challenge for him because if he fails in the playoffs again, that could significantly affect the amount of money and number of teams interested in him this winter.
Hamilton is a fantastic player, but he will eventually cool down from his great start and face the pressure of winning the Triple Crown, earning the largest contract possible and leading the Rangers to the World Series title.
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