Rookie of the Year: Bob Hamelin, 1994

First Baseman/Designated Hitter, Kansas City Royals

Age:  26

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 240

Prior to 1994:

A New Jersey native, Hamelin moved to Irvine, California with his family at age 12 and starred in football and baseball in high school. Recruited by Notre Dame for football, he chose to concentrate on baseball, going to Santa Ana College and UCLA instead. Selected by the Royals in the second round of the 1988 amateur draft, he was first assigned to the Eugene Emeralds of the short-season Class A Northwest League where he batted .298 with a league-leading 17 home runs and 61 RBIs. He was named to the league All-Star team. In 1989 he moved on to Memphis of the Class AA Southern League where he was found to have a stress fracture in his back and underwent surgery. Playing in 68 games he hit .308 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs. The back problem and leg injuries would hinder Hamelin’s progress to the Royals. Moving up to Omaha of the Class AAA American Association in 1990, he appeared in 90 games and batted a meagre .232 with 8 home runs and 30 RBIs. His average dropped to .189 in 1991, when he was still playing for Omaha. Hamelin was with three teams in 1992, from advanced Class A, back to Class AAA, and hit a combined .274 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. With Omaha in 1993, he batted .259 with 29 home runs and 84 RBIs, having recovered his power stroke. The burly slugger thus earned a late-season call-up to the Royals, where he hit his first two major league home runs. Hamelin entered the 1994 season as the team’s regular Designated Hitter and occasional first baseman. He quickly became a fan favorite with his hustling and enthusiastic style of play.

1994 Season Summary

Appeared in 101 games

DH – 69, 1B – 24, PH – 10

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 375

At Bats – 312

Runs – 64

Hits – 88

Doubles – 25 [16, tied with seven others]

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 24 [9]

RBI – 65

Bases on Balls – 56

Int. BB – 3

Strikeouts – 62

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .282

OBP - .388

Slugging Pct. - .599 [5]

Total Bases – 187

GDP – 4

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 5 [17, tied with sixteen others]

Midseason snapshot: HR – 16, RBI – 44, AVG – .267, SLG PCT – .576

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Most hits, game – 3 on seven occasions

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 3 AB) at Toronto 7/8

HR at home – 13

HR on road – 11

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 5 at Cleveland 4/16

Pinch-hitting – 2 in 6 AB (.333) with 1 2B & 1 3B

Fielding

Chances – 254

Put Outs – 234

Assists – 18

Errors – 2

DP – 11

Pct. - .992

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

AL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Bob Hamelin, KC.: 134 pts. – 25 of 28 first place votes, 96% share

Manny Ramirez, Clev.: 44 pts. –31% share

Rusty Greer, Tex.: 42 pts. – 3 first place votes, 30% share

Chris Gomez, Det.: 6 pts. – 4% share

Bill Risley, Sea.: 6 pts. – 4% share

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Royals went 64-51 to finish third in the AL Central Division, 4 games behind the first place Chicago White Sox, at the point in August that a players’ strike prematurely shut down the season and eliminated the postseason, while leading the league in stolen bases (140). 9.5 games out on July 23, the Royals put together a 14-game winning streak to pull into contention before the season prematurely ended.

Aftermath of ‘94:

With expectations high following his outstanding rookie season, Hamelin struggled in 1995 and was demoted back to Omaha. For the Royals, he hit .168 in 208 at bats with 7 home runs and 25 RBIs. The situation was similar in 1996 as he again spent time in the minors and batted .255 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs for Kansas City. Released by the Royals, he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1997 where he was again mostly a DH who hit 18 home runs with 52 RBIs and a .270 batting average. Hamelin next signed with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998, where he was a first baseman and pinch hitter, accumulating 167 plate appearances and batting .219 with 7 home runs and 22 RBIs. Released by the Brewers, he failed to catch on with the Red Sox in 1999 and signed on with the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League. Batting only .221 over 46 games, he abruptly retired at age 31. Overall, “the Hammer” batted .246 with 313 hits that included 70 doubles, 3 triples, and 67 home runs. He compiled 209 RBIs. With the Royals, he produced 42 home runs with 135 RBIs and a .241 average. In retirement he became a major league scout.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.