Rangers Josh Hamilton named American League Player of the Month…again

by Scott Guthrie

DALLAS — After Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was selected first overall in the 1999 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he took musical artist Prince’s song lyrics literally and “partied like it was 1999.”

Unfortunately, Hamilton didn’t stop partying.

Hamilton suffered from alcohol and crack cocaine problems, mental breakdowns and was cursed with a slew of injuries. In 2004, he was suspended from MLB after not complying with the league’s drug treatment and prevention program.

For two years Hamilton watched on TV the teams and players in the league he was supposed to be playing in. Finally, he received permission to return to MLB and join a major league team.

In 2007, the Cincinnati Reds gave the youngster plagued with potential a shot to return to the big show. Hamilton took the opportunity seriously and put down the bottle and picked up a bat. He hasn’t looked back since.

In his first and only season with the Reds, Hamilton accumulated a .292 batting average, 19 homers, and 47 runs-batted-in (RBI). His unexpected performance made an impression on his teammates, who nominated him for the 2007 Comeback Player of the Year award.

His teammates weren’t the only ones impressed. So were the Rangers. The Rangers traded one of their top pitching prospects in Edinson Volquez, who is having a monster year with the Reds in 2008, and pitcher Danny Herrera.

And although Volquez is having a great season, it would be hard for the Rangers to say they miss him due to the offensive productivity Hamilton has brought to the team.

On Monday, Hamilton was named the American League (AL) player of the month for the second consecutive month. Receiving the honor once is hard enough, but receiving the award in consecutive months is nearly impossible. Hamilton is the first ever AL player to receive player of the month honors for April and May, and is the first player in MLB to do so since Mark McGwire, then with the St. Louis Cardinals, claimed the awards in the National League (NL) in 1998.

Hamilton’s numbers leave no doubt that MLB gave the awards to the appropriate candidate. In April, Hamilton had six home runs (HR) 32 RBI and an impressive .330 batting average. As the summer weather continues to get hotter, so does Hamilton.

In May Hamilton was close to unstoppable. He tallied up 8 HR, an AL high 29 RBI and a .322 batting average. The stat line doesn’t stop here though. On top of all this, Hamilton posted a .617 slugging percentage, scored 22 runs and had 16 extra base hits.

Granted the season is only two months in, Hamilton has already made an early claim for AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) and there are even whispers that he could potentially be the MLB MVP.

For the season, Hamilton leads the AL with 16 HR and a .331 batting average and has a major league leading 65 RBI. While one day he might be compared to other all-time baseball greats, for the moment he is being compared to the horse Big Brown.

Both of them are chasing the elusive Triple Crown. While Big Brown only needs a victory at the Belmont Stakes to get his triple crown, Hamilton’s task is a little more difficult.

To finish with the Triple Crown, Hamilton will have to end the year leading the AL in home runs, RBI, and batting average, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox did it in 1967.

There is still a lot of baseball left to be played this season and some people feel Hamilton will cool off in the coming months and will miss out on the Triple Crown and the AL MVP. Don’t bet against him yet, though. Judging by his troubled past and current success, Hamilton seems to have a knack for proving people wrong.

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