Carlos Correa and Billy Hamilton remind us why speed thrills

In baseball, there are countless ways to score runs. More often than not though we celebrate the home runs the most, because they’re usually the most spectacular way to put runs on the board.

But not always.

Sometimes a good sprint around the bases can be just as exciting, and that’s why we’re celebrating Carlos Correa of the Houston Astros and Billy Hamilton of the Cincinnati Reds right now.

During their respective games on Friday, both men scored exciting runs for their teams thanks to their game-changing speed and even better instincts.

We begin with Correa, who actually pulled a trick straight out of Hamilton’s playbook by scoring from second base on a wild pitch. Obviously, this idea is not advised for most runners, because a lot would have to go right for them and wrong for the opponent to allow them to race the necessary 180 feet.

For Correa, it looked rather easy though. When James Paxton’s 91-mph change up bounced in the dirt and ricocheted away from catcher Chris Iannetta, Correa took off instantaneously and never broke stride around third, scoring with a slide but without an attempted throw. That run all but crushed Seattle’s spirit as Houston ended up rolling to a 7-3 win.

As for Hamilton, it was all about thinking and creating on the move as he scored from second base on a ground ball that never even left the infield.

It happened with one out in the fourth inning. Jay Bruce was the runner on first when Adam Duvall hit a ground ball to third base that appeared to be an inning-ending double play. Knowing this, Hamilton just kept running because either the inning was going to end or he was going to score if Milwaukee somehow failed to convert.

Ultimately, Milwaukee failed thanks to Duvall’s hustle and a bounced relay throw from Scooter Gennett. Before Chris Carter first baseman could pick the throw and recover, Hamilton was already exploding through the plate with a head-first slide that punctuated the exciting play perfectly.

That would be one of two critical runs that Hamilton scored in Cincinnati’s 5-4 win against Milwaukee. He later scored on Jay Bruce’s double after reaching on a bunt and taking second base on an error.

If you still prefer home runs, we understand. But guys like Carlos Correa and Billy Hamilton remind us frequently that speed can be just as important in deciding a game as power. They also remind us that while speed never slumps, it always thrills.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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