Marty Brennaman sounds off about Billy Hamilton's offensive struggles

Dave Clark | Cincinnati Enquirer

Show Caption Hide Caption Marty Brennaman to drive pace car in Quaker State 400 Marty Brennaman to drive pace car in Quaker State 400

It's not the first time Cincinnati Reds longtime play-by-play announcer Marty Brennaman has been critical of a player's effort, and it's likely not the last.

Brennaman didn't hold back in discussing Billy Hamilton's struggles at the plate during the Reds outfielder's at-bat with runners in scoring position in the top of the 2nd inning of Monday's game in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.

"It's a large enough sample size (at this point of the season) that he's not going to hit," Brennaman said of Hamilton during the game broadcast on 700 WLW. Brennaman also criticized Hamilton for not putting in enough work to become a strong bunter, and for popping the ball up too much.

Hamilton's pop out in the 2nd stranded a pair for the third out, dropping his batting average to .202 through 183 plate appearances this season. He has struck out a team-high 56 times with just 33 hits.

The Enquirer's John Fay wrote Sunday about how Hamilton's extended slump has been a contributing factor to interim manager Jim Riggleman's dilemma over which player leads off.

Hamilton has batted ninth - with the pitcher batting eighth - in 36 of his 46 starts so far this season, including Monday.

He did enter Monday hitting .240 so far in May, a significant improvement from the .172 batting average he had at the end of April.

Hamilton is a .244 career hitter over 2,362 plate appearances in six seasons, all with the Reds. He has increased his stolen-base total each season of his career (13, 56, 57, 58, 59) but entered Monday's game with just nine this season.

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