Outfielder Josh Hamilton will spend the winter and spring focusing on the Rangers rather than Team USA.
Hamilton recently told an inquiring representative of USA Baseball that he'd prefer not to play in the World Baseball Classic in 2009. In a recent conference call with reporters, Hamilton said he wouldn't rule out playing in a future WBC but for now wants to work on better establishing himself as a major-leaguer. "I'd be all for playing for my country," Hamilton said, "but personally and professionally where I'm at right now and playing full time for the first time last year, I just think it is the best situation for me."
In his first season with the Rangers, Hamilton led the team in games played and batted .304 with 32 homers and an AL-best 130 RBIs. Hamilton played 90 games for Cincinnati in 2007, his first season in the majors after battling drug addiction for four years.
Hamilton batted only .243 in August last year and then went 20 games in September without a homer as he surpassed his previous playing totals. Though he did finish strong, Hamilton's offseason goal is to better prepare himself for the latter stages of the season. He will attend a six-week course at the renowned Athletes Performance Institute (API) in Tempe, Ariz., before going to spring training.
"I did wear down a little physically and mentally," Hamilton said. "I want to be able to better deal with that."
