Nolan Ryan Says Josh Hamilton Isn’t ‘Locked In,’ Lacks Hank Aaron’s Focus

Being compared to Hank Aaron is usually a good thing.

But not when Nolan Ryan is mentioning Aaron when he talks about why he thinks you’re slacking off at the plate.

Ryan, the president and CEO of the Texas Rangers, called out star slugger Josh Hamilton on Monday on 103.3 KESN.

“Some of his at-bats aren’t very impressive from the standpoint that he doesn’t work deep into the count. He’s swinging at a lot of bad pitches,” Ryan said. “He just doesn’t seem to be locked in at all.”

Ryan said he hopes Hamilton will change the way he’s approaching pitchers — perhaps taking a cue from one of the game’s all-time great hitters.

“There’s a lot of those at-bats that [Hamilton] just gives away,” Ryan said. “One of the things I’ve always commented on is I can’t ever say that I ever saw Henry Aaron give an at-bat away.”

Ryan also said he doesn’t think Hamilton’s hitting problems are mechanical — that there’s something wrong with his swing. He said Hamilton isn’t out of sync, either, noting that he thinks the problem is that Hamilton isn’t being selective.

What’s one thing that could put Hamilton back in Aaron’s class? Perhaps he should hit a bunch more home runs.