Hamilton's Next Chapter

During a hunting trip in Nebraska this winter, far from the spotlight of last season's Midsummer Classic, Josh Hamilton finally had a chance to contemplate all that had happened.

The awe-inspiring display in the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, where the former No. 1 draft pick was an All-Star starter less than three years after he emerged from the black hole of cocaine and alcohol addiction. His American League-leading 130 RBIs while hitting .304 with 32 homers in 156 games in his first full season.

"I enjoyed sitting there with it quiet and did a lot of reflecting," Hamilton said. "It was a great year, an unbelievable year."

During that reflection, the Texas slugger also started feeling something else.

"Excitement," he said. "Kind of the urge to want to get started again and see if you can do better."

Hamilton is now ready for his next chapter, one in which he hopes to be part of the supporting cast on a winning team and not the center of media attention for his inspirational story.

Hamilton has repeatedly and openly told of the addictions that could have kept him from ever playing again. In countless interviews, sharing his testimony with church groups and a book released during the offseason, he has spared none of the ugly details of when his life had spiraled out of control.

The triumphant part of Hamilton's story is also well-known, including his debut in the majors with Cincinnati in 2007, eight years after he was drafted, and those 28 home runs in the first round of the Home Run Derby.

"The first couple of years were about getting back and getting settled in," Hamilton said. "Now that I'm settled in, it's about winning baseball games, doing what I can for the team."

While continuing to do what he has to do for himself to avoid any mistakes that could lead him astray. God and his family remain his main focus, and baseball is something he does.

"Our whole focus with Josh is his faith, his family and being the father and the husband he wants to be, the man he wants to be," said Johnny Narron, a Rangers coach and longtime friend who is his almost-constant companion. "His baseball talent will take care of itself. As long as he's on the field playing, he's going to perform. His tools will play."

The 27-year-old Hamilton knows that even after nearly 3½ years of sobriety and his on-field accomplishments, he is still a recovering addict.

"There's still those days," Hamilton said. "It only takes one, it only takes thinking that I can one time to end up right back where I was."

Just like the past two seasons, Hamilton carries little if any money and Narron holds on to his $89 per diem players get on the road. Narron, hired by the Rangers from Cincinnati after they acquired Hamilton, will be in an adjoining hotel room on road trips, and the two will continue to have meals and Bible study together.

"Josh is a unique talent with unique needs," Narron said.

"Everything's the same," Hamilton said. "I just don't need to try to take any unnecessary chances."

Hamilton tried cocaine and alcohol for the first time on the same night in 2002, when he was on the disabled list in the minor leagues. What followed were multiple failed drug tests, suspensions from baseball, eight trips to drug rehabilitation or treatment centers, and estrangement from his family.

It was an unimaginably dark journey for the clean-cut 18-year-old kid from North Carolina that Tampa Bay took as the top pick out of high school in 1999.

He was strung out with nowhere else to turn when he showed up at his grandmother's door in the middle of the night -- and has now been sober since October 2005.

When Hamilton first joined Texas last spring, traded from Cincinnati after he hit .292 with 19 homers in 298 at-bats during his rookie season, he shared his story in a news conference after the first full-squad workout. Several teammates and Rangers officials listened.

They then got an close-up look at his incredible breakthrough season, from the daily batting practice shows to finally fulfilling the lofty expectations that came with being a top prospect.

"He's a once-in-a-generation baseball player," teammate Hank Blalock said this week.

"You see his power, his arm, everything. Those are the type of things that make fans kind of jump out of their seats and say 'Wow!'," David Murphy said. "What people don't realize is how his own teammates, we are as blown away by the things he does as everybody else."

Hamilton last season reached 50 RBIs faster (45 games) than any player in AL history, breaking a record that had been shared by Joe DiMaggio. He was the first American Leaguer ever to be player of the month in April and May of the same season.

Then there was that July night in the Bronx, memorable even though he didn't actually win the Home Run Derby.

When the season ended, Hamilton was exhausted physically and mentally. From playing 55 games more than he ever had in a professional season to constantly responding to people who wanted to hear his life story everywhere he went.

It wasn't until December, on that hunting trip with his brother, that Hamilton finally got to really slow down.

"It was good just to get away from everything," he said. "We just talked about everything God has done in our lives and how amazing his grace and mercy is."

Hamilton will never hide from his past and will always talk about it, especially when he can help people facing the same demons he is holding at bay. But he doesn't plan to repeatedly retell his entire story to the media this season.

Want the back-from-the-beginning story? Read the book.

"That will answer all your questions," Hamilton said. "If somebody has a question about how things are going, or what kind of feedback I've gotten from people in general, I'm going to be definitely willing to answer those questions."

Reaction to "Beyond Belief" has been positive since its release in October. Hamilton said he is encouraged when people share with him how the book has helped their family members or friends.

Narron said the story shows people there can be hope no matter how bad things get.

"People need to remember that Josh has conquered some things but still the battle with Josh is the test of his faith every day," Narron said. "They see a man that's overcome some things, but they also see a man that's fighting that battle every day, and that gives them something that they can point toward."

This spring, Hamilton gave teammates copies of his book.

"He's always going to be accountable and talk about his story," general manager Jon Daniels said. "Rather than focus on that all the time, he wants the focus to be on the team. Not on Josh's past, but how Josh can help the club win."

Hamilton has been in Arizona since January, having gone to the desert a month early to work out at the Athletes Performance Institute. Since Rangers camp began last month, he has been in bed by about 7:30 each night and headed to the complex before 6 a.m.

Narron, who has known Hamilton since he was a kid, said the center fielder is in the best shape he has ever seen him and is motivated to help Texas win.

After losing nearly 20 pounds during his first full season in the majors, Hamilton is back up to about 240 this spring and is surprised at how good he feels.

"I see a quiet confidence about him. I don't think he's concerned about what he can do now. He knows what he's capable of doing," manager Ron Washington said. "He definitely found that dark hole, but he's one of the few that crawled out of it. He's blessed and he doesn't take it for granted."

With the calendar flipped to a new year and a new season only a few weeks away, Hamilton is ready for the next chapter. With a new reference point for the future.

"I don't ever want to turn the page," Hamilton said. "I always want to keep it around, or maybe fold the top of the page down so I can always go back to it."