But I have seen the error of my ways.
When I learned his name, my sophomore year of high school, I thought, "Cool. Rangers might be good this year with this guy." I've always been a Rangers fan (been going to the games since I was 7 years old) but I sort of followed them during that 2008 season. Then the next season, I really started avidly following my boys in Arlington and feeling sad when they lost and rejoicing in their victories. I genuinely cared about them.
My church started working with this campaign, if you will, called I Am Second. One day, I spent more than an hour on the website. Basically, they interview normal people and they give their testimonies of faith. But they had a couple famous people, like Stephen Baldwin. And then they had Josh Hamilton. I heard a brief version of his testimony and I decided that he was pretty amazing.
So then I decided that I needed to read Josh Hamilton's autobiography called "Beyond Belief". I just finished it literally ten minutes ago. Did I cry? You got it. Have I been inspired? Absolutely. Will I ever look at the number 32 the same way again? Nope! I physically feel different. Something about that autobiography that has really effected me. And I can't quite describe it.
Anyway.
So basically, here's Josh Hamilton's story in a nutshell:
He was a BEAST at baseball. A child prodigy at it. He was a first grader playing on a team for fifth through seventh graders. He was shooting balls out of fields further than high school kids when he was in middle school. He was stand-up, all-American, class A kid who was picked right out of high school to go to the Devil Rays. He was the first one to be picked right up since A-Roid (if you know me at all, you'll know the certain Yankee I'm speaking of). Then something went wrong. Even in the story, he said he couldn't pinpoint what was the catalyst for his behavior. Maybe it was the 26 tattoos. But whatever happened, one night he ended up drunk as a skunk and had tried cocaine.
And like every beginning addict, he said that he didn't need it. A hit every few days--no problem. But, of course, it escalated. He left every thing that tried to help him. No rehab place was enough. No one could threaten him out of it or scare him out of it or anything. Nothing was working. And it got worse--he got on crack. He tried to barter his wife's wedding ring for drugs. He had officially hit rock bottom. Then he went to his last resort--his grandmother's house. After losing a ridiculous amount of weight, his grandmother (Granny) made him eat and slowly, slowly, he got better. His wife did the almost-impossible and totally forgave for all his negligence. Josh handed his life over to God. And his life...changed. It was a miracle that he was still alive, really. After a bunch of amazing "God things", he got back in the pro ball business and played with the Reds for a while. Then they traded him to my boys, the Rangers.
The most moving part of the book, though, was probably one of the last stories. He was at one of his first press conferences with the Rangers when he saw Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and now-former player Hank Blalock in street clothes in the back of the room. No one had ever done that for Josh before. No teammate had ever come to just support him--much less three of them.
Yeah, that was when I cried.
He also said that the Rangers felt like home. Which I'm thrilled about. So, #32, keep doing your thing. Because you've got A TON of people looking at you for inspiration. Including me.
Josh Hamilton went from zero to hero in a matter of just 6 years (which is a short amount of time when we're talkin' addictions). Throughout the whole book, he just kept talking about how he wanted to be a better man of faith, husband, and father. I have such a massive amount of respect for him now. And it helps that he plays for my team.
Dear Josh Hamilton,
I hope you don't mind--I call you J-Ham sometimes. I think you're an amazing individual. You're a living miracle and such a Godly man. Hallelujah! The world needs more of those. You are no doubt a great dad and awesome husband. And I think your mom is right--God does love ball players. Praying for you, #32. And I'm glad you consider Texas home. It's pretty awesome. GO RANGERS!
Love,
Linley.
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