Excuse Me, Is That Your Blog?

Ok, now I don't intend this to be a sports or baseball-related blog, and I really intended to sit down and write an honest to God post tonight but... goddamn.

I got sucked into watching the MLB Home Run Derby, mostly because I love baseball and I love the Indians and our golden boy, Grady Sizemore, was taking part. But as I write this, I just watched Josh Hamilton hit a record-setting 28 homers in the first round. The runners-up hit 8, 8, and 7 homers, just FYI.

So why does this matter? Well, Josh Hamilton was the first overall pick in the '99 MLB draft. After a brief stint in the minors, Josh fell into the blackest of downward spirals and spent the better portion of his multi-million dollar signing bonus on his various debilitating addictions to heroin, coke, meth and alcohol over the course of three years.

Eventually, Josh was able to leave it behind. Trust me, there's much more to the story than I can do justice to in a short blog post... the details would make your jaw drop. Check out the June 2, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated if you're interested in more. Anyway, my point is this: after three years of living hell, Josh has returned and proven himself as one of the greatest talents at the highest level of professional baseball in the world. Perhaps one of the best raw talents in the history of the game, literally.

The Home Run Derby is supposed to be a fun little diversion, but this one was, for lack of a less hokey term, special. Watching Hamilton crush 500 foot homers like it was nothing in front of a crowd of 60,000 fans chanting his name at the last All Star Game in Yankee Stadium... the chills are still running up my spine.

For any cheesy story ever written about redemption, Josh Hamilton is the truth. Real, human inspiration. I can honestly say with no hesitation and not one bit of sarcasm that I am moved. I wish him a long and successful career; I know I'll be following it all the way.


Anyway, thanks for your patience with the pseudo sports-themed post. Brian and I will return tomorrow with your regularly scheduled snark (as soon as we have our apartment-seeking dreams crushed).