While browsing Twitter late last week, I was shocked to see reports that Josh Hamilton was to be traded to the Texas Rangers in the next few days.
Hamilton signed a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels two years ago, and to say he has underperformed would be putting it lightly.
I proudly say Hamilton is my favourite baseball player. His combination of power, speed and throwing ability puts him in the upper-echelon of the league when he’s on.
The only problem is he’s off much more than he’s on.
Hamilton was the first overall pick in the 1999 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Touted as a “can’t-miss” prospect, Hamilton was seen as one of, if not thee best high school player scouts had ever seen.
He was considered the prototypical five-tool player. Someone who can hit for average, hit for power, has speed on the bases, great fielding abilities and a strong throwing arm.
After his 2000 season in which he was named MVP in his single-A league, Hamilton sustained a nagging injury in his lower back that couldn’t be diagnosed by any doctor he went to.
The frustration of not being completely healthy, combined with struggling at the plate in his 2001 season led to Hamilton hanging around at a tattoo parlor and experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
Despite playing fairly well during the 2002 season in high-A ball, Hamilton’s drug dependency eventually ended up with him being suspended from professional baseball for three seasons. The once can’t miss prospect was now missing, in a big way.
He was sent to rehab at the conclusion of the 2002 season, and failed a drug test during 2003 spring training. After failing two more tests, took the rest of the 2003 season off for personal reasons.
Hoping to make a comeback in 2004, Hamilton failed three drug tests in a single month, resulting in him being suspended for the entire year.
Once again, 2005 proved to be no better as Hamilton relapsed once again and was suspended for the entire season.
In 2007, the Rays left Hamilton off their 40-man roster and the Chicago Cubs selected him in the Rule 5 Draft before promptly trading him to the Cincinnati Reds.
Nearly eight years after he was drafted, Hamilton finally made his Major League debut on April 2, 2007. He received a 22-second standing ovation during his first trip to the plate.
After appearing in 92 games with the Reds, he was traded to the Rangers where his career took off. He hit 32 home runs and lead the Majors with 130 RBI, finishing seventh in MVP voting.
After an injury riddled 2009, including a relapse when he got drunk at an Arizona bar, Hamilton returned to form in 2010 being named American League MVP after batting .359 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI in just 133 games.
It appeared Hamilton was ready to dominate the baseball world for the next decade, and hit a career-high 43 home runs in 2012, including a game in which he hit four two-run home runs, becoming just the 16th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in one game.
Despite that season, Hamilton’s play deteriorated near the end of the season, and came to a head in a must-win game.
In a game that would determine the winner of the American League West division, Hamilton missed a routine pop-up, causing the eventual game-winning run to score.
He was booed in his final at bat of the season, as fans had seemingly had enough of his inconsistent play.
In December of 2013, it was announced he had signed a five-year, $125-million contract with the Angels.
In 240 games with LA, Hamilton hit 31 home runs and was maligned by fans and management alike at the completion of the 2014 season.
A few months ago after undergoing shoulder surgery, rumours surfaced that Hamilton had suffered another drug relapse, this time involving alcohol and cocaine.
He voluntarily reported his relapse to MLB, which resulted in an arbitrator ruling that he could not be suspended by the league. Angels owner Arte Moreno was not happy with the decision, demanding all Hamilton merchandise be pulled from team stores and making comments to media that he did not want Hamilton to return to his team.
Friday, the shocking news came that the Angels and Rangers had agreed to a deal that would see Hamilton return to the city that helped his career take off.
In the deal, the Angels will reportedly pay about $63-million of the $80-million that Hamilton is still owed over the next three years. No wonder the Rangers took him back.
Personally, I am so happy that Hamilton is getting a second, second chance. His story is such an inspiration to those suffering with personal issues of their own that it would be a shame to see his career come to an end because of his addictions.
It’s obviously no guarantee that he will immediately bounce back to his previous levels, he might not even be a starting outfielder for the Rangers to begin with, but the fact he’s returning to a team that truly wants him is a sign he’ll get the help and support he needs.
With Hamilton, the Rangers had their most successful seasons in franchise history, appearing in back to back World Series’ in 2010 and 2011. Without him, they’ve missed the playoffs in consecutive years, including finishing third-last in the Majors with just 67 wins last season.
While last year was mostly due to the sheer number of injuries throughout their lineup, if Hamilton can return to even half the player he was during the peak of his career, the Rangers will immediately become a much better team.
He’ll have a much better support group in Arlington being reunited with former teammates, friends and neighbors.
The big question is how will the fans react? Will they cheer or boo during his first at bat in a Rangers uniform?
Browsing online, the response seems to be split right down the middle. There are fans who want nothing to do with Hamilton, and there are others who are excited to have their former MVP back.
At the price of $17-million over three seasons, I would think it’s hard not to be excited at the thought of him coming back.
He could continue to be a fantastic story in the sports world, or his career could officially come to an end with little expense to the Rangers organization.
Obviously, I’m hoping for the former and looking forward to hopefully seeing more towering home runs into the upper deck at Global Life Park in Arlington.
The Rangers made a low-risk move on Hamilton in 2008, trading two pitching prospects to acquire him. Seven years later, they’re making another low-risk move to acquire him. It’s more than likely this time around won’t work out as well as the first time, but one thing is for sure, this is almost certainly Josh Hamilton’s last chance to be a professional baseball player.
Here’s hoping he can take advantage.
