One of my favorite players, for a variety of reasons, is Josh Hamilton. People that follow baseball know his story, and it really is quite amazing. In a story lede: Former all-world-number-one-draft-pick-turned-drug-addict beats addictions through faith and becomes star. It's inspiring stuff, and something you should definitely do some reading on. I also really suggest reading I'm Proof That Hope is Never Lost (Another 'You Picking Up What I'm Putting Down'), an article Josh wrote with Tim Keown a couple years ago when he returned to baseball. It's incredible. Here is a video that briefly tells the Josh Hamilton story.
There are a couple clips in that video of Hamilton absolutely destroying baseballs in the 2008 Home Run Derby. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in my life, baseball, sports, or otherwise. He was on top of the world. Yankee Stadium was chanting his name and the raw emotion of the whole thing was surreal. It's something I can't get over, and literally gives me chills any time I see footage of it. You couldn't write a more fitting ending to a comeback story.
So, when pictures of Hamilton getting trashed at a Tempe bar started popping up a couple weeks ago, I, and countless others, were shocked.
It was hard to believe - to the point that I honestly didn't believe it was him. It was disappointing, to say the least. But we all mess up, and I was interested in how he would handle it.
His response was refreshing. In an era where we find out about another 'hero' being on steroids every other month, only to have them dance around the questions and make up all kinds of bull shit (Roger Clemens, A-Rod) or wait a week and a half to talk about it while the players' union prepares statements and lies for you (David Ortiz), Hamilton owned up to what is ultimately a much more serious situation. You want to do steroids? Fine, I really don't care a whole lot. Honestly, I don't. But why lie about it? Why destroy your reputation as one of the best ever, and make up words like 'misremembered' as you lie to Congress, Clemens? At least someone like Bronson Arroyo has the balls to say "Yeah, I took all kinds of shit and I don't give a fuck." Hamilton held a press conference the next day and owned everything. And for me, it made him all the more inspiring. It made him real again. It was nice to see someone own a mistake for a change.
"I'm embarrassed about it. For the Rangers, I'm embarrassed about it. For my wife, my kids... Honestly, I hate that this happened. But it is what it is. You deal with it. I realized that, obviously, I'm not perfect, in this on-going struggle, battle, that is very real. A lot of people don't understand how real it is.
"As soon as it happened, I called my support system -- my wife, the Rangers, MLB and told them what had happened. I was absolutely open and honest about it.
"I went to get something to eat. Obviously, I eat at restaurants that have bars in them all the time. I wasn't mentally fit to go in there, spiritually fit, and it just crossed my mind, 'Can I have a drink?' Obviously, I can't.
"I don't feel like I'm a hypocrite. I feel like I'm human. I got away from the one thing that keeps me straightened out and going in the right direction."
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