Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers: Give this man a cigar!

For cricket fans who may not know or understand the term, the Golden Sombrero concerns a succession of “hitting” failures within a single game: The batter in question strikes out at least four times. Josh Hamilton was the 2010 American League’s Most Valuable Player. This did not save him from the humiliation of earning the Golden Sombrero, in front of the home-town fans and a national-television audience on Fox no less, during today’s interleague tilt versus the New York Mets (a game in progress at this writing but probably soon mercifully over for the Rangers). Thus, Hamilton still has a chance to make it five or who knows how many K’s? (Cricket fans: a “K” is the score-card symbol for a strikeout. Also remember: theoretically, there is no limit to the number of times a hitter may come to bat in a game, though the usual number is four or five so-called plate appearances.) In fact, the slugger has seen only three balls out of the strike zone (and at which he has not swung) all day to this point, an astounding combination of good pitching and batting futility. (Cricket fans: A batter can swing at a ball out of the strike zone, otherwise “a ball,” and take his chances doing something good with that high, low, or outside pitch.) In short, June 25, 2011, only six months till Christmas, marks the date of one game that Josh Hamilton will not include in his 2011 highlight reel, for special sled delivery to the kiddies, by Santa.