Josh Hamilton’s troubled journey through MLB and his addictions - Part 1
Joshua Holt Hamilton better known as Josh Hamilton is one of baseball’s best players. He made his debut into the world of Major League Baseball in 2007, although he had been presented an opportunity before to join MLB in 1999. Currently he plays for the
Texas Rangers but previously he has played for the Cincinnati Reds.
When he first started out, Hamilton was perceived by many as a once in a generation kind of player that would take the sport of baseball to new heights. He proved to be worth every bit of the hype and attention he received but after his first pick in 1999
things went as bad as they possibly could for the troubled star.
His first brush with MLB came in 1999. He was approached by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays but due to his drug addiction he couldn’t get his career on track and it spun out of control.
Following an accident, Hamilton started socialising with a group of troubled men who possibly led him into the world of excessive alcohol, life threatening drugs and countless tattoos. During Spring Training of 2003 he failed to pass the drug test and was
suspended. Every time that he failed the test, the MLB put another years worth of suspension on him. By 2004 Hamilton stopped taking any sort of drug tests and made many trips to rehabilitation centres but couldn’t stay sober long enough. His career in baseball
was officially on hold.
He was swallowed by a haze of drugs and alcohol and was a primary example of how a world class player could tumble to the lowest of the low in baseball or all of sports in general. He went on for years like this and no one could do anything to prevent his
stunning decline. Hamilton went for years without picking up a ball or bat but fortunately for him when he was ready to return, the game welcomed him back with open arms. After eight months of being clean, Major League Baseball gave him the chance of returning
to the game he once cherished.
His return got a lot of hype from the media and his inspiring story of getting his life back after going down such a dark path made headlines everywhere. His locker was always full of news reporters and media personnel.
After his return and the 2006 season with the Rays, the Chicago Cubs decided to invest in him so later they could give him to the Reds in a pre arranged deal. Since the Cubs had taken Josh in the Rule 5 draft, the Reds had to pay a $100,000 for him. After
gambling such an amount on a troubled player like Hamilton, the Reds found him a round the clock companion whose only job would be to keep Hamilton out of trouble, as he had only just recently recovered from his disturbing past of drugs.
The Reds’ manager Jerry Narron’s brother, John was assigned for the job, who like the new and changed Josh was deeply religious. John was deeply committed to keeping Josh in line because being a hitting coach himself he knew the talent Hamilton possessed.
His commitment to guiding Hamilton on to the right path could be proved by the fact that later when Hamilton suffered a wrist injury, John moved in with the player and spent his days playing video games and watching movies.
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