If you would’ve told somebody who knew Josh Hamilton eight years ago that he would be second in the National League in home runs in 2007, then they would’ve looked at you like you were stupid for saying something so obvious. If you would’ve told somebody who knew Josh Hamilton three years ago that he would be second in the National League in home runs in 2007 they would’ve looked at you like you were stupid for saying something that is never going to happen. That is the story of Josh Hamilton, golden boy to disaster.
When Josh Hamilton was a senior in high school he was the top prospect in the country. Josh Hamilton was a sure fire, can’t miss prospect that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays took with the number one pick in the draft, even ahead of his high school teammate Josh Beckett.
Josh Hamilton was everything you would ever want in a prospect. Josh Hamilton batted an incredible .556 his senior year of high school and could’ve been a pitcher too judging by his 7 – 1 mark that season. Josh Hamilton was just as great off the field as he was on the field. He was a nice guy, very humble and so dedicated to the game of baseball that he never even dated in high school. Josh Hamilton had star written all over him.
Then something happened. Josh Hamilton was in a car accident. But this isn’t a story about a player whose career was cut short by injury. The accident wasn’t serious enough to end Josh Hamilton’s career but it did sideline him for some time and while he was sitting out he got bored.
Josh Hamilton then began hanging out at a tattoo parlor with some new friends he had met. From there Josh started to get all kinds of tattoos, tattoos he didn’t even know the meaning of. Tattoos became drinks. Drinks became powder. Powder became crack.
One day while visiting a psychologist about injuries he sustained the psychologist could tell something was up and asked Josh what was going on. Hamilton told him he had been using drugs and the next day he was sent to Betty Ford. After a few months Hamilton left. The next four years was a constant cycle of rehabs, relapses, injuries, drug use, failed drug tests and suspensions. Finally Josh Hamilton gave up. Hamilton stopped taking the required drug tests and did not play baseball from 2003 to 2006.
One night Josh Hamilton showed up on the doorstep of Michael Dean Chadwick, the father of one of his ex-girlfriends. Chadwick took Hamilton to the back porch where they talked and Chadwick began to help Hamilton get his life back together. Eventually Josh Hamilton began to date Chadwick’s daughter Katie again and eventually they got married. Josh and Katie used some of the remaining $200,000 from Hamilton’s signing bonus to buy a house, the rest, about $70,000, Hamilton spent on drugs. Six months later Josh and Katie were separated. Six months later Katie brought their daughter Sierra home alone, Josh was getting high.
In 2005 Josh Hamilton showed up on the doorstep of his grandmother Mary Holt. Holt’s family had told her if Josh shows up don’t help him, but she couldn’t refuse, not after seeing him in the condition he was in. Josh stayed with his grandmother for awhile and once again the urge returned. On October 6th, 2005 Josh Hamilton returned to his old habits. Then he began to think about his life, or lack thereof. His wife and daughter were gone, his parents were gone and baseball was gone. It was that night on October 6th, 2005 that Josh Hamilton got drunk and got high for the last time.
Josh Hamilton then traveled to Winning Innings, a Christian baseball academy where he took a job cleaning and in return he got to use the facilities after work to train again. Josh Hamilton got clean, passed all his drug tests and after some persuading, Major League Baseball reinstated him. Josh Hamilton was ready to get his career started with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays once again.
On December 6th, 2006 Josh Hamilton was sitting in his kitchen reading his text messages. He opened one that read “Jesus never fails. Send this message to nine people and you will get good news tomorrow. Don’t take this as a joke.” The next morning Josh Hamilton was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Because of certain rules in which the Reds acquired Josh Hamilton they had to either include him on the 25 man Major League roster or let him go. That meant the Reds intended to start him in the Majors, when with the Devil Rays he was going to be starting over in Triple A.
Josh Hamilton attended spring training with the Cincinnati Reds and won himself a spot on the opening day roster as the fourth outfielder but Hamilton is playing so well the Reds have to find a way to get him in the starting lineup everyday. On this day Josh Hamilton has 5 home runs. His five home runs ties him for second overall in the National League with the likes of Carlos Lee, Chipper Jones and Barry Bonds. Except that Josh Hamilton’s five home runs have come despite him having 30 less at bats than all those players. Josh Hamilton’s 1.150 OPS is also second in the Majors trailing only Barry Bonds. The can’t miss prospect is back; he was just offline for a while.
Now Josh Hamilton goes every where with a posse of several people. But unlike most young kids who have a posse they aren’t there as a sign of his fame and money, they are there to make sure he doesn’t fall off the wagon again. Josh Hamilton no longer carries money, ever. He lets his wife Katie, who he is now back with, carry all the money and Josh Hamilton never goes in stores alone. It all seems like desperate measures to stop one man from drinking or doing drugs. But it has saved Josh Hamilton’s baseball career. It has saved Josh Hamilton’s life.
