As the Major League Baseball season got started this past weekend, there were two players from our area that were on opening day rosters.
Everybody knows of Athens Drive's prized alum Josh Hamilton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft and now playing for the Texas Rangers. Hamilton's "Homecoming" story with ESPN The Magazine's Rick Reilly, in which Hamilton travels back to Athens Drive, is in this month's edition of the magazine on bookstands now.
Hamilton, an outfielder, hit .304 last year with 130 RBI and 32 homers for the Rangers last season. Through four games this year he's hitting .308 with two RBI and no homers.
Joining Hamilton in the big leagues this year is Apex High alum Landon Powell. Powell is a rookie making his major-league debut as the backup catcher for the Oakland Athletics.
Powell spent four years with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks before being drafted in the first round by Oakland in the 2004 MLB Draft (24th overall) and was assigned to single-A ball later that year.
Powell has yet to take a MLB at-bat, but he did hit 48 HR and drive in 165 RBI with a .257 average during his stay in the minor leagues. Powell spent five years in the minors, but only four seasons as he tore his ACL before the 2005 season, causing him to miss every game that year.
