Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers is in his ninth season as a Major League Baseball player. The left-handed outfielder has had a history of ups and downs but is looking to get his career back on track.
The 34-year-old baseball veteran grew up in Raleigh and attended Athens Drive High School. While he was in high school, Hamilton was already being compared to big league players.
During his time at Athens Drive, Hamilton played centerfield and pitched. He recorded a solid 6.7 seconds in the 60-yard dash. His teammates nicknamed him “The Hammer” because no one had ever seen a high schooler with a quicker bat.
As a senior, Hamilton batted .529, with 13 homers, 20 stolen bases, 35 RBIs and 34 runs scored in just 25 games. As a pitcher, he lost just once in eight decisions and struck out 91 batters in 56 innings. For two seasons in a row, he was honored as North Carolina’s Player of the Year. He also made the cover of Baseball America.
In the 1999 draft, Hamilton was selected first overall among the likes of players like Barry Zito and Josh Beckett.
In his second season, Hamilton hit .302 with 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. In response, he was invited as the youngest player ever to participate in the Futures Game, in which he led the USA team to a win with three hits.
Entering the 2001 season, Hamilton was considered the top prospect in the game by Baseball America, but the destruction in his life was beginning. Hamilton and his family were involved in a bad car accident, which put him on the disabled list after a few games during that season.
With all the time in the world, Hamilton began hanging out with the wrong crowd at a tattoo parlor. He started using drugs and alcohol for the first time.
The plague of injuries continued for Hamilton. After the back injuries subsided, he tore a quadriceps muscle which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. The following season, a sore shoulder and elbow limited him to the position of designated hitter, where he still batted a solid .303 with nine homers and 44 RBIs in 56 games.
Hamilton continued doing drugs and alcohol and saw his baseball career put on hold when he was suspended for the 2003 season.
In 2004, Hamilton found himself sober long enough to fall in love and get married to a former high school friend. After discovering he began smoking crack again, his wife kicked him out of the house, and he was forced to live with his grandmother, the only person who would take him in.
After hitting rock bottom, Hamilton vowed to give up drugs and alcohol.
He was invited by Roy Silver, owner of The Winning Inning, an academy that ties the fundamentals of baseball and Christianity together, to join the staff and work his way back into the game. During this time he dedicated his life to God and found revival through the Christian faith.
Hamilton was taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Cubs, but soon traded to the Cincinnati Reds who lacked outfield depth. During his first full season with the Reds, Hamilton batted .292 with 19 homers and 47 RBIs.
Hamilton was then signed by the Texas Rangers, and his career truly took off. In his first season with the Rangers, he batted .304, hitting 32 homers and a league-leading 130 RBIs.
The year 2008 was highlighted by Hamilton’s impressive Home Run Derby performance. He smacked 28 homers in the first round alone, the most hits in any round ever.
While 2009 was a down year, 2010 was resurgent. He hit .359, with 32 homers and 100 RBIs. He led his team to the World Series that year. Although the Rangers lost, Hamilton proved he was worthy of the risk Texas took on him.
Over the next two seasons, Hamilton saw great success with the Rangers in which he hit 43 homers in 2012. After that season, he signed a five-year, $125-million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Hamilton highly underperformed his first two years with team and saw injury limit him. At the end of the 2015 season, Hamilton underwent shoulder surgery. He reported to the MLB that he relapsed during this time, and the Angels traded him back to the Texas Rangers.
Hamilton spent much of last year on the DL. After he returned, he finished the season with a .253 BA, eight homers and 25 RBIs. Hamilton has started off the 2016 season on the DL.
Hamilton’s strong perseverance through the intense problems that he faced shows his strong character and willingness. He was gifted with talent for the game of baseball that not many have seen and he is an inspiration across the nation for people struggling with addiction problems. His belief in and love for God is what drives him to continue to play the game.
At 34 years old, it appears his career is coming to an end. The slugger will return this season some point early on to hopefully carry out a successful year.
