CommentaryThe week Josh Hamilton lost his faith
Josh Hamilton knows what it is to have faith.
And that’s why I was shocked that he choked.
When it comes to Hamilton, I’ve come to expect something great. Lots of people have. Heck, Jon Acuff, that jaded, satirical Christian blogger over at Stuff Christians Like, actually proclaimed Hamilton the greatest Christian athlete of the 21st century. So yeah, this guy's made an impact, and we definitely hold him on a higher pedestal than we should sometimes. It's totally unfair. But it’s also reality, and so, as a Chinese proverb I just made up goes, when the great man fails, the normal man is confused.
So what happened?
This was going to be the next glorious step in Josh Hamilton’s journey. He was the druggie who flirted with death who got pulled from the edge of hell by God Himself. He returned to baseball with the power and authority of Samson. He became a star again. He destroyed baseball after baseball in that otherworldly Home Run Derby in 2008, when the multitudes filling Yankee Stadium chanted the addict’s name.
Then it happened. He failed. He fell off the wagon, and everyone doubted him again. Maybe he even doubted himself.
A year later, he’d erased it, at least as far as we could tell. Here he was, not only recovered but thriving, and meanwhile, his Texas Rangers became the feel-good story of the year. Manager Ron Washington is busted for drug use—cocaine, no less, one of the drugs that nearly killed Hamilton—to start the season. Instead of getting fired, he gets redeemed. He keeps his job and along the way lands the Rangers in the franchise’s first World Series ever.
After getting hurt in early September, Hamilton rejoined the team for the postseason in October. Oh, sure, he returned to doubts. People said his ribs would hold him back. In the American League Division Series, he nearly proved them right, struggling to hit over .100. Then came the League Championship Series. Hamilton earned the series MVP award, slugging 1.000, hitting four bombs in six games and driving in seven, looking invincible. His teammates followed suit, and the Rangers made the Yankees’ massive payroll look like the biggest waste of money since the Wall Street bailouts.
So it was with great vigor and enthusiasm that I leapt upon the Rangers’ bandwagon. And it was with great dismay I watched the Rangers play like a team that belonged somewhere—anywhere—except the World Series, losing in five games. Kids on playgrounds fight more. And like he had against the Yankees, Hamilton led the way. He went 2-for-20, slugged .250, drove in one run with a meaningless solo shot in the Rangers’ Game 4 win. (By the way, how about Kevin Mitch Moreland, the Rangers’ rookie first baseman? Dude killed it. We’ll be seeing more of him.)
Of course, the Giants deserve credit. They had the best pitching staff in baseball, and so it was, in a way, fitting that they were the team to win it all this year, The Year of the Pitcher. Good for them. But the Rangers could have done so much more than they did.
What happened? How does Josh Hamilton, He Touched by God, fail so miserably at such a horrible time?
Looking at some of Hamilton’s swings, he reminded me of someone else this World Series. Me. Trust me, that’s no compliment. I entered college as a freshman headed for a pro career. Four years later, my career ended as a fourth-string catcher at a Division II college. The nuts and bolts of everything is that, basically, I played weak. I packed on 40 pounds of muscle in those four years, and in batting practice, I could hit the ball 500 feet with a flick of the wrists. No, seriously. But that mattered less than the Obama stimulus plan, because come game time, when things really mattered, I swung weak, without any conviction, and then I got tense, and I watched fastballs go by my belt for called strike threes. I got scared. Coach didn’t like that so much.
(On top of that, I got a horrible case of the Rubes—couldn’t throw the ball back to the pitcher.)
Look, I don't mean to bash Hamilton--it could happen to anybody. Happened to basically the whole Rangers lineup. I’m just surprised it happened to Hamilton. Let’s face it—he isn’t just anybody. He’s Josh Freaking Hamilton. But he swung weak, without any conviction. Then he got tense, and watched fastballs go by his belt for called strike threes.
Dude got scared.
This life—whether it’s hitting a baseball or fighting addiction or raising a family—is about faith. The holiest of monks know a faith in God. But when it’s time for the monk to do his job, to prepare his meal, to pour his water, it is the monk’s hands, not God’s, that do the work.
Invincibility is all about one’s armor, and the most deadly of attacks are the ones from within. This was about Josh Hamilton believing in Josh Hamilton. That’s a faith the slugger forgot.
The slugger is human. Fortunately, the slugger learns well. History has shown us that. I still have faith, and I know the slugger does, too. Now that I've written this, the disappointment has faded, I'm already stoked for next season.
The slugger has much baseball left to play.
Reader Comments (10)
awesome post dude
Dude, thanks.
Great post...have a feeling Hamilton will see the World Series again and he wont be scared next time!
Thanks Chris. And yeah, I'd agree with you on that. Dude's a stud. He'll more than make up for it in the years to come.
It's Mitch Moreland, not Kevin Moreland.
Mannn....thanks Dianne! Weird, I knew that, too.
good post...great read...see u friday night
Thanks man. See you tomorrow!
Nice post, and I agree Hamilton is an amazing player, and World Series nerves probably did get him a little bit. However, I think saying 'dude got scared' is completely discounting the fact that the Giants have very scary shut it down pitching.
Totally right, Erin.
(However, I didn't completely discount the fact that the Giants have very scary shut down pitching....from a few paragraphs before "Dude got scared": "Of course, the Giants deserve credit. They had the best pitching staff in baseball, and so it was, in a way, fitting that they were the team to win it all this year, The Year of the Pitcher. Good for them.")