Major League Baseball

Josh Hamilton's Return to his Old Haunt

Published Oct. 18, 2010 10:13 p.m. ET

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The former Rays No. 1 draft pick who had a world of talent - and problems - returns to Tampa Bay as a hitting phenom for the opposing Rangers.

By JOEY JOHNSTON

jjohnston@tampatrib.com

ST. PETERSBURG - After missing nearly a month, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has returned to the lineup. He's wearing a flak jacket to protect two fractured ribs. He's not 100 percent, but his presence alone has energized the Rangers as they head into Wednesday's Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ordinarily, that would make for a nice comeback story.

There's nothing ordinary about Hamilton's career.

And the injury doesn't compare to his greatest comeback.

"This goes far beyond just baseball," said Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman, who decided in 2006 to leave Hamilton unprotected on Tampa Bay's 40-man roster, signaling a new beginning that led to the 6-foot-4, 240-pound player fulfilling his Li'l Abner-meets-Mickey Mantle potential. "This is a triumph in real life."

Once, Hamilton said he was face-to-face with the devil. He was consumed with two things - using cocaine, then finding a way to get more. Between binges, and during the years of addiction that had him suspended from 2003-05, Hamilton grieved for what he was doing to the Rays, the organization that drafted him No. 1 overall in 1999, his family and himself.

Still, he couldn't stop.

"Then, when you find yourself lower than you ever imagined, you decide to get up," said Hamilton, 29, who won the AL batting title at .359, despite missing 24 games in September, while slamming 32 home runs and driving in 100 runs. "God is just waiting for you, but you've got to take the first step. Sometimes, addicts don't understand that. I had my moment of clarity and was able to climb out of that hole. But it's a battle. That battle never really stops."

During a trip to an Arizona workout facility in early 2009, he relapsed. Photographs of a drunken Hamilton, surrounded by three women in a bar, surfaced on the Internet. Hamilton addressed the episode head-on. He no longer carries money or a credit card. Idle time is his enemy. He goes to the ballpark, then he goes home. Over and over.

"You're trying to stay clean every day, but you don't go beyond one day," he said.

He has a tightly woven support group, led by his wife, Katie, other family members, a few pastors and Johnny Narron, a Rangers coach who is essentially Hamilton's keeper, a constant presence on the road who always occupies an adjoining hotel room.

Hamilton's very public struggle brings out some predictable catcalls. "Crackhead!" he will hear. "Don't trip over that white line, Josh," somebody will yell.

Then again, during his last trip to St. Petersburg, a man stopped Hamilton in the hotel lobby. He said Hamilton's story helped him to stay clean for three years.

"Growing up, all I ever wanted to do was play baseball," Hamilton said. "But I think what has happened in my life, my ultimate calling might be sharing my story. Every field I go to, it's like a mission field for me. Every field is like my home field."

Rays: It wasn't meant to be

Hamilton's home field was supposed to be Tropicana Field.

"We came in together and I was pretty sure we were going to be together a long time," said Rays left fielder Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay's second-round pick in 1999.

Rays center fielder B.J. Upton always will remember his first spring training - mostly because he got to see Hamilton work in the batting cage.

"I remember being an 18-year-old kid and hearing the sound off Josh's bat," said Upton, who had a locker next to Hamilton. "You knew it was him hitting just by the sound. I was like, 'If I've got to do this to get to the big leagues, I don't think I'm going to make it. That's what a big-leaguer looks like? Wow.'"

By the time Rays manager Joe Maddon arrived, Hamilton already had been to hell and back. He was clinging to a thread, hoping for a future. The Rays still weren't sure.

"He sat in my office, we shook hands, but I don't feel like I really got to know him," Maddon said. "I can't tell you how many baseball people I encountered through the years - I'm talking really experienced guys - who keep saying, 'Josh is the best baseball player I've ever seen.' You knew he could be something."

Could be.

In 2005, Hamilton cleared waivers - he could've been had for a $20,000 fee, but every team passed, leery of the inactivity and potential trouble. In 2006, Hamilton, again unprotected, was plucked away by the Cincinnati Reds in the Rule 5 draft. It was a risk because it meant the Reds had to keep Hamilton on their major-league roster.

But Hamilton produced and was traded to the Rangers for 2008, where he was best remembered for a 28-homer barrage during the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, a nationally televised showcase of how far he had come.

Now Hamilton is arguably the best player in baseball.

"People understandably say, 'Oh my God, how could you let that guy go?'" said Maddon, who once issued an intentional walk to Hamilton - with the bases loaded. "But you make the decision and don't turn back the clock."

"If I could unwind it with what I know now, of course (we would keep Hamilton)," Friedman said. "You could argue that he needed to move on, that it would be difficult to achieve the same success had he stayed here. We are happy for him. Honestly, when I hear Josh's name now, I'm not looking back. All I'm thinking is, 'How do we get this guy out?'"

How, indeed?

He can do it all

The quintessential Josh Hamilton game: When the Rangers defeated the Red Sox 10-9 in 11 innings on Aug. 13.

Hamilton was 4-for-5, including a double and a homer. He scored four runs, including the eighth-inning equalizer when he came home from second base on an infield hit.

"Shortstop went to his left, Josh didn't stop and he beat the throw by 15 feet," Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson said. "It wasn't even close. MVP moment."

Earlier, Hamilton robbed Boston's Jed Lowrie of a home run with a leaping, lunging catch. He crashed into the wall, landing flat on his stomach at the warning track. Then he popped up, flashing a big smile, holding the ball.

"I'm running back to the dugout, thinking, 'What just happened?'" Lowrie said. "It was disheartening. But it was also awe-inspiring. A man that big who can run that well, I mean, it's incredible."

Narron, who first met Hamilton when the player was 9 years old in North Carolina, said he enjoys watching him run as much as watching him hit.

Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler said Hamilton should win two Gold Gloves - one for center field, one for left, where he has alternated.

Rangers outfielder David Murphy is more succinct: "Josh is Superman to us."

Ironically, Hamilton's stunning Home Run Derby performance in 2008, the moment when the nation discovered his prowess, has sometimes been a burden. Every night, everyone wants to see the show.

"I told him, 'Let's not care about the ooohs and aaahs in BP ? it's just practice,'" Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle said. "Forget the Home Run Derby. Let's become one of the elite players in the game."

Mission accomplished.

"He doesn't have to be a hero every night," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He might go 0-for-4, but he can beat the back end of a double play. He'll take a walk, take an extra base, go get a ball in the gap. He has matured so much."

"I have finally realized I don't have to make something happen every single moment," Hamilton said. "Just put the barrel on the bat. Prepare. Get my work done. Game time, barrel the ball. I think before I might have been so anxious to make good on my (second) chance. Now I'm relaxed. I'm at peace. What happened in the past, it's gone."

Hamilton considers it pure irony that he's back in St. Petersburg, making his first postseason appearance against his old organization.

"Obviously, they have a different team, a different organization," Hamilton said. "It's where I started, familiar in terms of scenery, but what happened here is in the rear-view mirror."

Two years ago, Hamilton watched the World Series. He rooted for the Rays.

"I'm proud of how far they have come," Hamilton said. "But you know what? I'd like to play in the World Series myself."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

(CHART) HAMILTON TIMELINE

1999 - Drafted No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and given a $3.96-million signing bonus.

2000 - Named USA Today Minor League Player of the Year after batting .301 with the Charleston Riverdogs.

2001 - During spring training, he and his parents injured during a serious car accident in Bradenton. While rehabilitating, unable to play baseball, he begins a downward spiral and turns to drugs.

2003 - Granted a leave of absence for the entire season to deal with "personal issues."

2004 - Suspended for the season for violating the Major League Baseball drug treatment and prevention program.

2005 - Unclaimed by every other MLB team after being placed on waivers by Rays.

2006 - Reinstated and plays for Hudson Valley (after missing nearly 700 games due to injuries, drug suspensions and personal reasons) in four years.

2006 - Selected by Cincinnati Reds in Rule 5 draft after Rays leave him unprotected on 40-man roster.

2007 - Hit 19 homers with 47 RBIs while batting .292 for the Reds.

2007 - Traded to Texas Rangers, who surrender prized pitching prospect Edinson Volquez to the Reds.

2008 - Selected to the American League All-Star Team. Hit 28 homers in the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium. Overall, bats .304 with 32 homers and an AL-leading 130 RBIs.

2009 - Played in only 89 games (.268, 10 homers, 54 RBIs) in injury-plagued season.

2010 - Made his third consecutive AL All-Star team. Won the American League batting title (.359), despite missing 24 games in September with two fractured ribs.

Compiled by Joey Johnston

Photo Credit: Staff file photo (2001)

Photo: The Rays had high hopes for Josh Hamilton after drafting him No. 1 in 1999.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo: Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton led the American League in hitting this season with a .359 average while slamming 32 homers and driving in 100 runs.

Photo Credit: Staff photo by PAUL LAMISON

Photo: Josh Hamilton, taking batting practice at Tropicana Field on Monday, won the American League batting title this season.

Copyright ? 2010, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com

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