Josh Hamilton is a fascinating man. If you are not familiar with his story then allow me to enlighten you. With the world in front of him at age 18, Josh Hamilton was drafted by the lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 with the first pick overall. Truly a five tool player, hitting for average, hitting for power, fielding, throwing, and running, Hamilton had all the promise in the world. Unfortunately for Hamilton this meant an introduction to the world of hard drugs and alcohol. Hamilton succumbed to this lifestyle and found himself suffering on the baseball field collecting several fines and suspensions for breaking the drug policy in Major League Baseball. In 2001, two short years after being drafted, Hamilton made his first attempt at rehab. By 2004 Hamilton's addictions forced him out of baseball all together as he began his road to recovery. In 2006 the Chicago Cubs selected Hamilton in the Rule 5 Draft, trading him to the Cincinnati Reds for $100,000. The long road to recovery was finally complete and he was back in baseball. Since October 6, 2005 Hamilton has been sober from both drugs and alcohol. Or so we thought.
Pictures have surfaced of Josh Hamilton at a bar with women, who are not his wife, in provocative poses. According to Hamilton he became intoxicated in January and relapsed from his sobriety for the first time in 4 years. Hamilton also stated that after realizing what he had done he immediately told his wife and teammates of the incident. Let me repeat that. After realizing what he had done he immediately told his wife and teammates of the incident. He did not wait till the pictures came out to apologize to his wife with expensive jewelry. He did not wait until the media brought up the pictures to his teammates for their reactions. He did not wait till the pictures were released to apologize to his organization. He did the right thing and made sure everyone that needed to know knew and received an apology. When asked if he felt like a hypocrite for relapsing Hamilton responded by saying "I feel like I'm human. I got away from the one thing that keeps me straightened out and going in the right direction." This man is a beacon of hope in a sea of liars and cheaters that are plaguing the sport of Baseball.
I respect Josh Hamilton. He is one of the few men in Major League Baseball that I trust is genuine and honest in everything he does. It is for this reason I have chosen not to post the pictures of Hamilton's relapse. Instead I have chosen to provide you with what is probably his shining moment: the Homerun Derby at Yankee Stadium in 2008. After all of his addictions and suspensions in 2006 Hamilton had a dream. He dreamt that he was in Yankee Stadium participating in the Homerun Derby. As you can see that dream came true and he captured the hearts and imaginations of millions as he had beaten the odds. With his relapse, Hamilton clearly proved he is human and makes mistakes. However he also proved that he does not hide from those mistakes but rather owns up to them and rectifies them.
