Type of story that makes you go...Wow...
I just watched MLB comeback kid Josh Hamilton whop 28 homers out of Yankee Stadium in Round 1 of this year's Home Run Derby, including three over 500 feet, several to the upper deck, and two over the centerfield wall, on a High Definition TV. All I can say is WOW. Apparently, that's all David Ortiz could say (seen mouthing it after a few homers) and it was all the announcers including Chris Berman could say too. Gave me goosebumps for sure.
To hear the roar of the soldout Yankee Stadium crowd - and of course it being the last year of Yankee Stadium (and I was there last month for my first ever game at that stadium, and last of course, a 6-0 loss to Cincinnati but still an awesome and awe-inspiring experience) - and to hear the chant "Hamilton! Hamilton!" arise, and to see him break the first round record for homers (which was 24)...WOW!
This is a remarkable story of someone I hadn't even heard of before today. They were talking about him on WGR radio. The first overall pick in 1999, he spent three years out of baseball after falling to drugs and alcohol. After finally sobering up in 2005, he started his return to MLB. How he gained the strength to comeback after so long away from the pro game, it's hard to say other than what Josh just told ESPN moments ago: God. God entered his life and totally changed him and got him back on track, and he's "so blessed" - his words, not mine. What a fantastic story, and you know it's a true one. None of this made-for-TV gimmicky or dramatic garbage...this is real.
Can't script it any better. Now he just has to win this Derby to make the story complete....I'll post later tonight with an update on his fate and slap it to the bottom of this entry.
UPDATE: 11:08 p.m.: Unfortunately, it wasn't a storybook ending...Justin Morneau comes away with the title with 5 homers in the final round; Hamilton only managed 3 in the finals. He clearly got tired. It's too bad but doesn't take away from his outstanding performance earlier and the history we all witnessed at Yankee Stadium tonight.
To hear the roar of the soldout Yankee Stadium crowd - and of course it being the last year of Yankee Stadium (and I was there last month for my first ever game at that stadium, and last of course, a 6-0 loss to Cincinnati but still an awesome and awe-inspiring experience) - and to hear the chant "Hamilton! Hamilton!" arise, and to see him break the first round record for homers (which was 24)...WOW!
This is a remarkable story of someone I hadn't even heard of before today. They were talking about him on WGR radio. The first overall pick in 1999, he spent three years out of baseball after falling to drugs and alcohol. After finally sobering up in 2005, he started his return to MLB. How he gained the strength to comeback after so long away from the pro game, it's hard to say other than what Josh just told ESPN moments ago: God. God entered his life and totally changed him and got him back on track, and he's "so blessed" - his words, not mine. What a fantastic story, and you know it's a true one. None of this made-for-TV gimmicky or dramatic garbage...this is real.
Can't script it any better. Now he just has to win this Derby to make the story complete....I'll post later tonight with an update on his fate and slap it to the bottom of this entry.
UPDATE: 11:08 p.m.: Unfortunately, it wasn't a storybook ending...Justin Morneau comes away with the title with 5 homers in the final round; Hamilton only managed 3 in the finals. He clearly got tired. It's too bad but doesn't take away from his outstanding performance earlier and the history we all witnessed at Yankee Stadium tonight.