Opinion

Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers exploded Tuesday night, hitting four two-run home runs. He becomes the 16th player in baseball history to accomplish the feat.

Hamilton's 5-for-5 night boosted his already strong batting average to a robust .406, and he has now compiled 36 RBI and 25 runs scored. 

With 14 home runs, Hamilton has now taken over the major league lead from Matt Kemp (12), who has not homered since April 30 against the Colorado Rockies.

At the rate Josh Hamilton started this season, you just knew that he was bound to do something special at some point in this season.

Well, wait no more for that special moment.

Josh Hamilton is looking for a new contract and doing everything in his power to get it.

What better way to grab the attention of the entire baseball world than to smack four home runs?

That’s just what he did on Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, en route to this absurd stat line:

5-for-5, 4 HR, 1 2B, 4 R, 8 RBI, 18 TB

The Los Angeles Dodgers new ownership group has two golden opportunities to make a mark on the new era of Dodger baseball.

And...well, they're gonna wait to make that statement until the season is over.

Free agent to be, Andre Ethier, has made it known that he would have no issue discussing a contract extension during the course of the season.

The debate is raging all over Boston: When Kevin Youkilis returns to the Red Sox lineup in the next couple of weeks, what will the team do?

Will they move Will Middlebrooks and his .381 batting average, .409 on-base percentage and .953 slugging percentage back down to Triple-A Pawtucket?

With that, Middlebrooks should probably take his three home runs (one of which being a grand slam) and nine RBI with him, right?

Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Jose Valverde account for $73 million of the Tigers' payroll this year.

And nearly thirty games in, General Manager David Dombrowski might well be asking himself if the Tigers are seeing the type of returns expected from such a large investment.

On Sunday, Albert Pujols hit a home run, and there was much rejoicing.

There was much rejoicing, of course, because it was Prince Albert's first home run in a Los Angeles Angels uniform. It's been that kind of season for the former St. Louis Cardinals superstar, and it hasn't been fun to watch.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane—it’s Brian Dozier.

Not much has brought excitement to Minnesota Twins fans this season, but the arrival of Brian Dozier might just shine a light of hope. Dozier made his major league debut on Monday for the Twins, going 1-for-4 at the plate while starting at shortstop.

It's been a rough year for closers so far. A lot of closers have gotten hurt, including the seemingly indestructible Mariano Rivera. A few others, such as Heath Bell, have struggled mightily.

Given the circumstances, now is as good a time as any to take stock of the closer role in Major League Baseball. It's a position that has been the subject of debates for some time now, with some people insisting that having a good closer is vital to a team's success and others insisting that closers are the most overrated and overvalued players in baseball.

Being a Chicago Cubs ball girl comes with certain perks, one of which may very well be getting in touch with the opposition to get your flirt on.