Josh Hamilton drove in 76 fewer runs in 2009

These investment vehicles, which have long promised to make money in all markets, lost billions for wealthy investors, endowments and pension funds last year.But the data illustrate how aggressive trading techniques ranging from selling stocks short to using borrowed money gave the hedge funds' wealthy clientele an edge over the stock mutual fund portfolios used by the vast majority of American workers to save for retirement and college.The average hedge fund beat both the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index .SPX, which dropped 37 percent last year, and the average stock mutual fund, which lost 37.5 percent, according to data from Thomson Reuters unit Lipper Inc.Nevertheless, the hedge fund industry's losses have sparked an exodus by investors who are demanding their money back, forcing funds to return between 15 percent and 25 percent of investors' assets last year, said Charles Gradante, a founder of the Hennessee Group.WORST YEAR"Combined with negative performance and complete liquidations, the entire hedge fund industry started 2009 at close to 50 percent of the capital it was at the beginning of 2008," he said.Declaring 2008 the "worst year by far," Hennessee analysts said the industry's second-largest annual loss had occurred in 2002, when the average fund lost 2.89 percent. Hennessee Group has tracked the data since 1987.Many hedge funds suffered heavy losses both at the start of 2008 and in the September quarter, when they were throttled by gyrating stock markets and Lehman Brothers' (LEHMQ.PK) collapse.But the numbers may not paint a complete picture. Most funds are not required to report their returns publicly. And while thousands of hedge funds tell industry trackers like the Hennessee Group, Hedge Fund Research and BarclayHedge about their returns, some prominent funds that have lost nearly half of their capital last year do not provide the information.For example, Citadel Investment Group's preliminary numbers show that its flagship hedge fund lost roughly 50 percent in 2008, according to an investor who asked not to be identified. In 2007, the fund generated returns of around 30 percent.(Editing by Jason Szep, Lisa Von Ahn and Tim Dobbyn) Deals.

Josh Hamilton drove in 76 fewer runs in 2009.The Texas Rangers finished ten games behind the California Angels in the AL West in 2009. If Josh Hamilton had been healthy all season the Rangers may have won the division but with him missing 73 games they just didn’t have the firepower to take the division. Took 14 More At Bats Per Homer in 2009Hamilton hit 32 homers and drove in 130 runs in 2008 but hit only 10 homers and drove in 54 last season. He hit a home run every 19 at bats in 2008 but hit one every 33 at bats in 2009. Rangers Pitching Better Than BattingLast season the Rangers were seventh in the AL in ERA with a 4.38 mark and opponents hit for the fourth lowest batting average against the Rangers with a .260 batting average. Only the Mariners, Yankees and Rays held opponents to a lower batting average. Seventh in Runs ScoredThe Rangers were second behind the Yankees in homers with 224 to the 244 of the Yankees. It didn’t help the Rangers that Andruw Jones slumped badly in the second half of the season and hit very few homers in the last half of the season.Hamilton’s percentage numbers dropped off last year with his batting average dropping 36 points, his on base percentage dropping 56 points and his slugging percentage falling by 104 points and his OPS dropping by 159 points. Will be 29 in MayHis chance of ever entering the Baseball Hall of Fame are extremely slim with him having his 29th birthday next May and only having three major league seasons.The Rangers are hoping last season was not an indication that Hamilton is becoming injury prone because they need a healthy Hamilton if they expect to contend for the AL West title in 2009. Hamilton, Volquez Battled Injuries in 2009Hamilton and Edinson Volquez had great seasons in 2008 after being traded for each other in December of 2007 but both players missed a lot of time due to injuries in 2009 with Volquez falling from 17-6 record for Reds in 2008 but only had a 4-2 record in 2009 while starting only nine games.It will be interesting to see if both players can rebound in 2010 and post numbers closer to what they posted during the 2008 season.Volquez earned only $440,000 in 2009 which is only about $40,000 more than the major league minimum while Hamilton earned $555,000 in 2010.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge funds and private equity, prime beneficiaries of this decade's credit bubble, will come under further pressure in 2009 as institutional investors pull out capital to ease a global credit crunch, a top strategist at Merrill Lynch said on Thursday. Deals Russia"Those sectors will see huge contractions in 2009," said Richard Bernstein, chief investment strategist at Merrill Lynch.Bernstein, part of a panel discussion entitled "Market Forecast: Investment Challenges in Times of Change," sponsored by the New York Society of Security Analysts, also said he thinks there would be few allocations for alternative investments this year.Early estimates showed hedge funds suffered their worst year ever in 2008, with the average fund losing about 19 percent, according to fund industry consulting firm Hennessee Group.Assets managed by hedge funds and private equity have shrunk to around $1.5 trillion from nearly $2 trillion, according to members of the panel and some said there could be another $100 billion in redemptions in the first quarter of 2009.Yet as economic uncertainty abounds, an estimated $3.3 trillion in investable capital sits on the sidelines, the panel of experts said, seemingly waiting for a catalyst to jump back into financial assets.Bernstein said hedge funds and private equity will not be favored investment vehicles in 2009, as he expects negative returns over the next five years for the sector "because of the need for capital and cash calls."But not everybody is willing to give up on these beleaguered funds.Jason DeSena Trennert, chief investment strategist at Strategas Research Partners and also a panel member, believes the appetite for alternative investments will remain, although there will be "a bias for quality" within the sector."I don't think institutional investors and endowments will change their investment views on hedge funds and private equity," Trennert said."They may seek more publicly-traded companies" where there's more transparency, but they will still invest in these funds," he said.Aside from hedge funds and private equity, emerging markets were also discussed by the panel, with participants divided on the outlook for the region.Merrill's Bernstein advised caution when investing in emerging markets and said there is an element of "fear" when investors talk about that part of the world. He cited upheaval in Russia, which has struggled amid falling oil prices and a faltering economy.The bank's outlook for emerging markets in 2009 and 2010 is an L-shaped recovery, or a prolonged period of no growth, instead of a quick return to vigorous and robust economic activity.Strategas' Trennert partly agreed with Bernstein, but said it would be prudent for investors to have an indirect exposure to emerging markets."I would buy U.S. multinational shares with exposure to emerging markets, but I would not invest directly at these markets because there has been a reassessment of risk in the region," he noted.(Editing by Gary Crosse) Deals Russia.