One AB 101 Years In The Making

Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is one dangerous dude.

He currently stands as one of the elite power hitters in the American League, hitting .304 with 28 home runs and 114 runs batted in, and everyone knows about the 30 million bombs he hit at Yankee Stadium during the Home Run Derby. But what happened Sunday night hasn't been seen in more than 100 years.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Madden asked for Hamilton to be intentionally walked with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with the Rays hanging onto a 7-3 lead. Hamilton's RBI walk brought the Rangers within a run at 7-4 before Dan Wheeler retired Marlon Byrd to end the game.

The last time this happened was when Buck Showalter (then employed by the Arizona Diamondbacks) gave Barry Bonds the bases loaded free pass to force in a run. Better yet, Bonds was inserted in the game as a pinch-hitter for left fielder Chris Jones, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.

Yet, Showalter walked Bonds, then walked a way with a victory.

Just like the Rays.

Bases-loaded intentional walk to Hamilton pays for Rays [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

Josh Hamilton, You Are Ridiculous!

I understand that Justin Morneau of the Twins won the Home Run Derby. Yeah, he was my click to pick. And yeah, he's helping out the fantasy team. But count me in on the Josh Hamilton love fest.

28 home runs in the first round. 35 overall. And all it takes is the silly rule that all the home runs don't accumilate over all three rounds and Morneau wins the HR Derby with 22 home runs.

Golfers around the world must have been watching that spectacle green with envy, seeing a baseball player drive balls farther than they could.

I'm not sure if there are words to describe what the Rangers' slugger is doing at this point of his career.

But I digress.

Hamilton is not only the feel good story of the year, but his legend will grow as this generation of baseball fans will more than likely tell his story years from now to their children and their children's children.

It might be just me, but the only thing that would have made this story perfect would be if Jim Hendry had a time machine and undid the stupidity that was trading a player that would solve his ball club's biggest weakness.

Look, I've been one of the bandwagon drivers since the Cubs chose him No. 1 overall in the 2007 Rule V Draft and then for some unthinkable reason, traded him to the Cincinnati Reds for $50,000 cash.

And despite Jim Hendry's initial mistake, he could have made amends this off-season if the rumor was true that the Reds were asking for were Sean Marshall.

Lucky for the Reds, they ended up with All-Star Edinson Volquez.

I'll guess I'll stop now and give Hendry a hug and thank him for Rich Harden.

Daily Dosage: Back To The Drawing Board

Happy Birthday, Jessica Simpson. You're 28 today! Is that whipped cream going on your birthday cake or elsewhere? I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for elsewhere...

In an effort to match what their NL Central rivals are doing, the St. Louis Cardinals started a former Cy Young candidate as they attempt to make a name for themselves in what is shaping up to be one of the best races in baseball.

Unfortunately for Mark Mulder, it only lasted 16 pitches as the Phillies beat the Cards 4-2.

Cardinal Nation, if you're looking for sympathy from me you're not going to get it. Well, maybe just a little because Agent Mulder is a Chicagoland native. But for years, Cubs fans like myself had to deal with the constant Mark Prior and Kerry Wood catcalls from the fans and from Steve Kline. Remember his "I hope he takes a line drive and we never have to see him again" comment? I do.

Josh Hamilton Revisited. In this post on May 28th, I wondered aloud how good Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton would look patrolling center field at The Friendly Confines. Hamilton continues to look like the one that got away, especially after Wednesday night's walk-off home run against Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez.

The Hamilton Line: .307 20 HR 89 RBI .364 OBP .547 .911 OPS
Felix Pie + Reed Johnson + Jim Edmonds: .251 12 HR 62 RBI (Do I have to go on? I didn't think so.)


Quality Linkage

• If Brett Favre comes back, where does he go in your fantasy draft? (The Hazean)
• Rappers T.I. and Killer Mike give back to the hood. (The Smoking Section)
• When padding your resume goes wrong. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• C-Rod's family is "devastated." (NY Post) My fam would feel the same way if I divorced $275 million.
• Sports columnists are endangered species. (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Lost in St. Louis' love for booze, the Sporting News is leaving for Charlotte. (Money Central on MSN)
  

No News Like Old News

In the May 27 issue of Sports Illustrated there was a nice piece done on Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and his battle back from a cocaine addiction.

Check it out here.

In regards to the article I've heard a lot of "experts" criticizing him in a way similar to that of much maligned Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. Williams didn't really have a passion for anything other than studying scripture and smoking dope but he came back to football for the money.

There's no doubt in that and his story is similar to the Hamilton story in that both had drug addictions and cleaned up to get back into their respective leagues. Hamilton mentions that he doesn't watch ESPN highlights or read box scores because he isn't really a "fan" of the game. Williams isn't a "fan" of the game either and never really said he plans to or has already, quit smoking marijuana. He's staying clean to pick up a paycheck and I suppose this year will show if he's the Williams of old or just old.

Hamilton and his story is well-documented. If you read the article you see that he has quit using drugs of any kind to a point that he's even afraid to go out with teammates after games for fear of relapse. Is he playing the game just for the money at this point? Probably. Does that mean we can't root for him? Absolutely not. While Hamilton may not have the love for the game that a fan does, he goes out there every day and does his job and does it well.

While it is a game, it's still a job for these guys.

As long as Hamilton stays clean he'll remain a good story. Anything positive that can help a recovering addict is good, despite the fact that we want everyone who plays sports to "love" it.

On a funnier note, in the very unlikely event the Texas Rangers won the American League West, what would Hamilton do?

Champagne is poured onto teammates, beers are chugged and all sorts of wild antics ensue inside the clubhouse after something like that. Does he just jump in the car with his advisor after the team clinches it? Does he run into the bathroom and close his eyes? Does everyone spray Diet Coke and Grape Juice? It would be a rather interesting site to see but don't worry, the Rangers aren't even close...