Josh Hamilton's HR Derby Performance

Josh Hamilton was a former # 1 overall MLB draft pick by the Tampa Bay Rays. A 5-tool player with so much potential that allowed drug and alcohol abuse to nearly ruin his future. Despite being out of baseball for a couple of years, Hamilton is back for his first full MLB season this year and has instantly become one of baseball's best players as he leads the AL in RBI with 95. Carlos Quentin is second with 70 RBI.

(Last year he hit 19 HRs in 297 AB for the Cincinnati Reds.) Unlike most trades that seem to end up lopsided, Josh Hamilton's trade for Edison Volquez in off-season has turned out to be a win-win trade as Volquez leads the NL with a 2.29 ERA.

Pitching to Hamilton in the HR Derby was Clay Counsil, Hamilton's American Legion coach. Hamilton said in an interview that he has pitched so many batting practices without getting the recognition and appreciation that he deserves that he wanted Counsil to have this opportunity. When hearing how this would be Counsil's 2nd time in Yankee Stadium and what happened the first time (Don Larsen's perfect game), I instantly thought to myself this was going to be something special. And it was.

Josh Hamilton hit 28 homeruns in the first round of the Homerun Derby. Although Justin Morneau was the (gracious) winner of the 2008 State Farm Homerun Derby, Hamilton's record-setting performance in Round 1 will be what I and most fans remember. He hit more HRs in the first round than Morneau (or any other contestant) hit in the entire contest. (Technically, Morneau beat Hamilton 5-3 in the Final Round.)

And it wasn't just that Hamilton hit the single-round record of homeruns. They were all blasts. As Joe Sheehan says in his SI column:

...Then Josh Hamilton stepped in, and on the first pitch he saw hit a bomb about halfway up the right-centerfield bleachers.

Jason Grey of ESPN turned to me and said, "This could get interesting."

A few minutes later, Hamilton reached the back of those same bleachers, a place few hitters ever get. Before my jaw resumed its upright and locked position, Hamilton hit a ball off of the bank advertisement that sits on the wall above the bleachers. He then hit one that came just short of the DiamondVision board at the right edge of the bleachers. In two minutes, Hamilton had hit three of the longest home runs I've ever seen in this park.

The physical display was impressive. But, to me, his humility was even more impressive. Here's a guy who realizes and appreciates what he now has. In this case, Charles Barkley is wrong. Josh Hamilton should be a role model for anyone facing adversity and an example that opportunity and success are still possible when things seem hopeless.