Josh Hamilton may well be the most talented baseball player on the planet. The man spent 3 years playing no baseball and now has a decent chance at the first Triple Crown since 1967. During this years Home Run Derby, his perfect swing led to 28!!! homers in one round. Josh Hamilton’s story is interesting and to a point, unbelievable. The one thing it isn’t, inspirational.
When I think of inspirational sports stories, I think of Lance Armstrong dominating the Tour De France after beating cancer. How about Ray Ray McElrathbey raising his younger brother and playing Division One ball for Clemson. Jim Abbott overcoming his disability and carving out a nice Major League Career. Or even Jason McElwain dropping 20 in 4 minutes. I don’t think of a guy who dealt with the adversity of an injury by taking up crack.
Hamilton went to rehab 8 times. He tried to commit suicide (though married with a child) 5 times. He is so deep into his addiction that he has a handler follow him around and is not allowed to have more than $20 in his wallet at any time.. The guy has all the talent in the world. He tries to throw every last ounce of it away. After 7 tries, he is able to overcome his “disease” (By the way drug addiction is not a disease, cancer is a disease. Drug Addiction is Darwinism) and make something of his life. Was it inspirational when Steve Howe came back from his seventh suspension? Was it inspirational when Dwight Gooden came back a shell of his former self? Hamilton story is amazing, but the man is not an inspiration. And from reading this story, you’ll learn that he is kind of a asshole too.
