Hamilton fighting through knee pain
Texas Rangers’ slugger Josh Hamilton is battling pain in his right knee. He complained about feeling pain after Sunday’s game against Oakland. In Monday’s game, Hamilton was moved to the designated hitter spot while Vladimir Guerrero moved into the outfield.
Hamilton leads the majors in batting average at a whopping .359 and is the top candidate to be the American League MVP. He has led the Rangers to the top of the AL West and they appear to be on their way to reaching the playoffs.
Hamilton already received an injection of cortisone in his knee at the beginning of August after he said the knee gave out on him in July. He also had a lubricant injection in April, which is what he will now receive as he tries to finish the season. He is not planning an MRI at this time and wants to finish the season before considering any sort of surgery.
"The first shot lasted two months and the second one only lasted a month," Hamilton said. "The biggest problem is running in the outfield."
He is staying in the line-up because he feels he can still hit. He admitted his swing brings some discomfort, but he has been able to work through that. He will stay in the third spot in the heart of the Rangers batting rotation and will be the DH while seeing if his knee can recover enough for him to return to the outfield.
Hamilton also has hit 31 home runs and has 95 RBIs. His presence in the line-up makes the Rangers a great team and he wants to be around and contribute through the stretch run. While he may not be able to field as effectively, he can still hit.
Hamilton has also not ruled out receiving a third cortisone injection even though players usually are held to two per season. He will also limit his batting practice time to rest his knee as much as he can. Manager Ron Washington also said that he would give Hamilton days off whenever he can as the Rangers try to preserve their best player for their imminent play-off run.
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