Book Review - Hamilton "Beyond Belief"

I read Josh Hamilton's autobiography which ran through the 2008 All-Star game when he put on the home run derby show.  Once again, a quick read.  Some things I took away from it:

• Up until draft month when he was a senior, it was hotly debated on whether he would pitch or play the field.  He was a first-round prospect either way, but once in a lifetime in the field.  His Dad tried to get him to take it easy on the mound so teams wouldn't insist that he pitch in the minors.
• He was always injury prone, even before the drugs, he had back, knee, elbow issues.
• When he was 18 he went to spring training with the Rays; Canseco was there and challenged him to a quick round of home-run derby; the young Josh promptly whacked 6 in a row out and left the rest of the team in awe (Canseco hit 3)
• At class A Bakersfield at the age of 20 he hit a homer that left the park and landed on a levee in the mud.  The team measured it at 549 ft.
• Getting inside the head of an addict makes you realize the hopelessness of it.  It's hard to understand how they can ever recover when they get that deep.
• He walked into the Reds clubhouse in 2007 having played a total of 8 class A games in the past 4 years and never having an at-bat above AA.  He hit .420 in spring training.
• After the trade to Texas, he trained back home in NC with football players from UNC and NC St.  He was timed at 4.5 in the 40 while running with the football players.  4.5!  His vertical was 32 in.
• It is fact that Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, and Hank Blalock came to his first press conf with the Rangers unannounced.  It left a huge impression on Josh and he has been close with Kinsler ever since.  The Rangers have a great clubhouse.
• He loves the movie "The Natural".  Go figure.

Tragedy and triumph.  We missed his prime and the combination of age, drugs, and injuries mean he'll never reach his potential.  We got to see 3 months of the best Hamilton had to offer last summer and it was breathtaking.  He is too injury prone to play center field now, robbing us of that pleasure.  Good pitchers can work him over because of his lack of plate discipline.  Watch enough and you get to see things only a few people ever could do.  But every day on the field is a miracle for him.  It makes for a great story (movie?).

S