Hamilton departs Frisco with first homer in 10 minor league games

Josh Hamilton homered in his last at-bat for Double A Frisco on Wednesday afternoon, a two-run shot over the swimming pool beyond the wall in right field at Dr Pepper Ballpark.

It was his first in home run in 10 minor league games while working his way back to the Texas Rangers. Hamilton is scheduled to play Thursday through Saturday for Triple A Round Rock before traveling to join the Rangers for a three-game series in Cleveland beginning Monday.

Hamilton said he and the club have talked openly about his return to the major leagues.

He’s been honest with the club about how he feels, which includes a steady swing at the plate but a little bit more work on his defense. He expects to play the outfield in at least two or three games and DH in another.

“They don’t need to rush me back for anything,” said Hamilton, who went 1 for 4 in Wednesday’s 8-1 win over Midland. “In the past, obviously, I would have forced the issue to get back, but I’m not forcing the issue now. Trying to grow up a little bit.”

Hamilton is batting .371 with a .405 on-base percentage and .977 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).

He grounded out twice to first and reached on a fielder’s choice to second. He toned down his swing in the seventh before knocking the two-run shot. He was missing on several off-speed pitches in prior at-bats.

“I was trying to kill them, trying to hit a homer,” he said. “Then I got a heater and grounded out to first. The next at-bat I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to take a nice, easy swing if it’s a pitch in the zone,’ and he kind of hung the slider and it was a good swing, so it felt good.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2015 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Hamilton departs Frisco with first homer in 10 minor league games."