KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Now it all makes sense. There had to be something that goads Billy Hamilton into doing everything fast. He talks quicker than John Moschitta Jr.. He eats with breeziness that would make Joey Chestnut blush. And when he runs – well, let's just say Billy Hamilton may run the bases faster than any baseball player in history, Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders included.





"It's the Dew," Hamilton said.

That's right. Forget the amphetamines, the 5-Hour Energy, the Monster, the Red Bull and every other dignity-sucking energy drink. Hamilton kicks it '90s old school. He pounds Mountain Dew like he's a Silicon Valley newbie on a coding bender. And with 104 stolen bases already this season for Bakersfield, the Cincinnati Reds' Class-A affiliate, he is riding the Yellow #5 wave to breaking the single-season stolen-base record in organized ball, Vince Coleman's 145 for Class-A Macon in 1983.

"There's something about Mountain Dew that gets me amped up," Hamilton said. "I feel like if I drink Mountain Dew, everything in my body gets ready to go. It helps me steal bases. Even the coaches will bring it to me."

None of the staff was there to sneak Hamilton his Hit Dew – that's what he calls it when he slugs it in-game – during Sunday's Futures Game, in which he led off and played shortstop in the USA team's 17-5 victory over the World team. He had a typical Billy Hamilton game. There was the groundout in the first inning, during which he eased up and still made it to first base in 4 seconds flat, a silly-fast time – and six-tenths of a second slower than what one veteran scout said he clocked Hamilton at earlier this season, the fastest in his 30-year career. And the error at shortstop, a position at which he may or may not stick.

Then there was the triple.

To watch Hamilton run is to see a finely tuned machine churning in beautiful synchronicity. Each of his pieces and parts flexes and tenses harmoniously, unleashing a torrent of fast-twitch fury. Hamilton drove a ball to center field, which Jae-Hoon Ha misplayed, and off he went, third base a birthright. He slid mostly for show. Sometimes it's as if God couldn't throw out Hamilton.

During his 82 games with Bakersfield – he's off to Double-A Pensacola after Sunday – Hamilton did the impossible enough to render the word meaningless. He stole second with impunity, third carte blanche. Catchers caught him 21 times, but only because he's still not a polished base runner.

One time, Hamilton, 20, stood on third and a teammate chopped a ball back to the pitcher. He looked Hamilton back to third base and threw to first. Hamilton ran anyway. He scored. It was a lot like the time a catcher threw a dropped third strike to first base and Hamilton dashed home from third.

Nothing was quite like April 20. It was 0-0, bottom of the ninth. Hamilton singled, then stole second and third. With one out and the infield drawn in, Juan Duran hit a pop-up. Second baseman Carter Jurica, a San Francisco prospect, wheeled back and caught the ball. Hamilton tagged up and went. On a pop-up to second. And he scored.

"That was it, "said Travis "Moose" Mattair, one of Hamilton's teammates with Bakersfield. "That's when I knew. I played with Anthony Gose in 2009. I thought he was the fastest person I've ever seen. Billy Hamilton blows him away."

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