Memories of Darryl Hamilton

[Edgy MD]

My greatest Darryl Hamilton memory was that he was the capper of Phillips-era double-challenge trade win. They signed Lance Johnson to a two-year deal; got one all-star-quality season out of him; flipped him mid-season for Brian McRae, got high-end, good-power production out of him, while Johnson would never be good again; and then flipped McRae again in midseason for Hamilton; and got Darryl's last high-end production out of him while McRae would never again be good. They essentially got four years of productive batsmanship in center (with a little Carl Everett in there for a bit) out of a risky two-year.

Phillips could have kept it going if he flipped Hamilton in mid-season 2000 or 2001 for, I dunno, Juan Encarnacion or somebody, but Darryl instead he crossed the finish line a Met, if an embittered one. And that's a good thing.

[Guest themetfairy]

I remember my mom liking him, referring to him as the "Good Darryl" (with the implication that Strawberry wasn't).

Otherwise, he had an electric smile. All of the tributes coming in talk about what a genuinely nice person he was.

RIP D-Ham - you deserved a better fate.