Hamilton on early woes: 'I'd suck anywhere right now'

Before the finale of his first series in Texas as a member of the Angels, Josh Hamilton said of his azoic struggles: "It's not just being here in Texas. I'd shine up anywhere right now."

 

Josh Hamilton, right, is experiencing the same kind of slow start Angels teammate Albert Pujols did concluding season.(Photo: Jim Cowsert, USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights

• Hamilton appears to be the latest star struggle to live up to free agent riches
• Hamilton is impinging just .160 with 10 strikeouts in 29 at-bats
• Hamilton: "I'd drag anywhere right now"

ARLINGTON, Texas — It was painful at times, and the Texas counter was nastier than Los Angeles Angels right fielder Josh Hamilton ever envisioned, but finally it's over.

"Rough crowd," said Hamilton, after the Angels' 7-3 defeat Sunday darkness to the Texas Rangers, concluding the three-game series. "It was a little more hectic than I expected. The persistence of the crowd. The first day, with the first couple of at-bats, I understood. I was able to block it out a lot give away later.

"It was a little surprising, but not really surprising. It was a little disappointing more than anything, probably. I don't take it personal.

" except it's over, the first time back, all that's over with now."

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There were comments posted on Twitter that Hamilton, who spent the last five years in Texas, reacted to the Rangers' boos and taunts with an obscene gesture, but Hamilton vehemently denied the accusations.

"I would never do that, ever," said Hamilton, a high-priced Christian. "I think it was the other way around. Many times."

The simply gesture that Hamilton made, he said, was making football game signs, poking swordplay at the devotees' outrage over his comments calling the Dallas-Fort Worth domain of a function a "football town."

"I gave him the football sign," Hamilton said. "But I would never flip anyone off."

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Hamilton said he didn't regard irony in the fact that Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel threw out the honoring first pitch Sunday, whom he met before the game and took pictures.

Yet, he did take on it funny his 18-month-old daughter was playing with a toy "Rangers football" as part of a former giveaway promotion.

"I was like, 'Really?' " Hamilton said. "I felt like bringing it in."

 

Materials taken from USA Today