Angels' Hamilton: Boos from hometown fans in ALDS were 'comical'

As he cleared out his locker at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, beleaguered outfielder Josh Hamilton reflected on his injury-riddled season that ended Sunday when his team was ousted from the postseason by the Kansas City Royals.

“It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Hamilton told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “The injuries weren’t like hamstrings. When you play the game you are going to get hurt. You can’t control that unless you play soft, and that’s a whole other issue.

“It’s frustrating, but we did some things better than we did last year and the three years before that. We won our division and got to the playoffs.”

A rash of injuries limited Hamilton to just 89 games during the regular season, a career-low for the 33-year-old who played just four games in September amid various upper-body ailments. Though Hamilton played in all three games of the American League Division Series, he failed to reach base in all 13 of his plate appearances and encountered hostility from the fans in Anaheim.

“I thought it was pretty funny, after my third at-bat of the first game, I got booed,” Hamilton said. “I’m like, seriously? I’m out for a month, put all kinds of poison in my body to even attempt to play, and get booed. Whatever. It’s kind of comical.

“I don’t take offense to it because they don’t know me. There is no personal interaction.”

Hamilton has thus far struggled to live up to the five-year, $133-million deal he signed back in in December of 2012, but the five-time All-Star doesn't seem too preoccupied with how he's perceived among Angels fans.

“We don’t necessarily play for the people in the stands,” he said. “We play for each other. We spend every day with each other. We have relationships with each other. We love each other. We fight for each other. That’s what we play for.”