Josh Hamilton had two surgical procedures on his ailing knee — one in early September from which he returned by season's end to play for the Rangers and another in October shortly after the Rangers' playoff run came to an end in Game 5 of the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
Even after that, Hamilton's knee wasn't right.
Over the weekend at Rangers Fan Fest, Hamilton said he'd received a cortisone injection in the knee by Dr. Keith Meister that seems to have finally alleviated pain in his knee, but it's a bit problematic the two procedures couldn't do that and he's already having to rely on cortisone before baseball activity even ramps up.
Hamilton has only played as many as 140 games twice in the past seven seasons, and it's near impossible to imagine a third time coming in 2016, but Hamilton said he's ready to give it a go.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to get worried and frustrated about my knee," Hamilton told the Dallas Morning News. "When you go through the therapy process for so long and expect to see improvements that aren't there ... that's something that weighs on an athlete, especially one getting a little older.
"But I came out of there [Meister's office] grinning from ear to ear."
It's encouraging he's finally pain free but given the fact cortisone injections aren't something that can just be handed out whenever you want them, it's a bit concerning to see how long the medicine works and how long it is before Hamilton's knee flares up again.
