ROTTERDAM, N.Y. — Chris Hamilton last played in a baseball game March 11, when Stony Brook faced Merrimack at Joe Nathan Field.
The Seawolves standout is poised to return to play soon.
Hamilton, whose senior year was cut short due to coronavirus halting spring seasons, has decided to play in a makeshift, four-team league for college players in upstate New York this summer.
His Albany Dutch team is slated to play 30 games between July 6 and Aug. 13 in Amsterdam and Glens Falls.
"I'm excited to get back on the field and compete," said Hamilton, whose squad will be coached by Nick Davey, who used to tutor him a decade ago, when Hamilton was approaching his teenage years. "There is a lot of local talent in this area. I'm looking forward to seeing live pitching again and getting on the field."
Hamilton hails from Rotterdam — 30 minutes from where games will be played.
A lefty-hitting, lefty-throwing first baseman and outfielder, he batted .298 with one homer and four RBIs in 57 at-bats in 2020, before the Seawolves' season was halted.
"After our school season ended abruptly, I spent a few months in Florida. We set up a temporary batting cage in the backyard after the facility where I've trained in the past closed because of COVID-19," Hamilton said. "I spent a lot of time on the tee every day. My dad has thrown BP to me since I was five years old, so he threw to me every day, and I worked with a hitting instructor I've worked with in the past. We drove back to New York two weeks ago. I have been hitting in the cage here in New York and training at home."
Hamilton once appeared destined to be drafted this month, but that hope was dashed for him — and hundreds of other collegiate players — when Major League Baseball slashed the draft from 40 to five rounds. Barring a free-agent deal materializing with an MLB organization, he is expected to return to Stony Brook for the 2021 campaign.
Hamilton completed a bachelor's degree in business management at Stony Brook in May.
"It was a huge disappointment that the draft was only five rounds," Hamilton said. "The timing couldn't have been worse for me and so many others. I try to keep everything in perspective, though. There are so many people who have been affected by the virus in significant ways. I can't dwell on the past. I'm fortunate that I received a four-year degree from such a highly regarded university and have an opportunity to go back and play for Coach Senk again. My dream has been to play professional baseball, and I will do everything I can to make that a reality."
