Redemption at the Ball Park
July 19, 2008
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So my wife and I recently went to the historic All Star game at Yankee Stadium. I also had the privilege of going to the homerun contest the night before. Even though, I am proud that I live in Brooklyn, NY and have come to the conclusion that I will never get my wife to leave Brooklyn, I will always be a Chicagoian at heart. So you will notice from my picture that I am showcasing my love for my beloved Chicago White Sox. (I am about to anger some people from my home town, but because I have been away for so long, I even have love for the Chicago Cubs.. *note to others, if you are from Chicago, you are suppose to choose one, it is not possible to actually root for both teams). Anyway, I must admit, that the actual game was kind of a bore. It was extremely hot and for some reason, the normal excitement wasn't in the ball park. This could be attributed to many things, for instance, the amount of corporate seats that were purchased or given away and their recipients’ lack of intensity for the experience and game, the amount of young talent that participated in the game and the loss of blockbuster names either due to injury or down year statistically. However, there was intensity in boo'ing Boston Red Sox players. They got boo'ed every time their name was called.
Anyway, this post isn't really about the game, more so about one player, Josh Hamilton. Josh is a special talent who from day one, had an ability to play baseball that amazed everyone who saw him. He was drafted by the Tampa Ray Devil Rays at the age of 18 in 1999 and given a signing bonus that was unheard of for a high school draft pick, $3.5million. He was in and out of the majors, suffered injuries, but worst of all, suffered from a drug addiction that would not seem to let his soul go. When drafted, he was seen as the perfect prospect; a tremendous athlete and a clean wholesome boy. Things changed and so did his life, because one day he woke up penny-less and out of baseball. It's hard to believe that someone who was believed to have so much character and so much promise could fall so far, but it happens everyday.
No ONE ever wakes up and says, I want to throw all of my potential away. It is always a string of events that happen which eventually leads a person to place they could have never imagined. But it’s not for others to judge and belittle a person for a mistake or a problem that persists, but rather to help and restore that belief in self and the knowledge that any difficulty can be overcome. Despair can happen to anyone, no matter the situation or status. It is only by the grace of God and the drive that is within that it does not happen to you.
So even though Josh had fallen, he is officially having his coming out year in the 2008 season. At All-Star break he was leading the majors in RBI's, he was player of the Month for April and May, and he was telling his story of redemption to anyone that would listen. He has now been sober for 3 years and still talks about the deamons he faces everyday in order to keep his sobriety. His story is a great one, one of many highs, a low, and a new high. His is a story that will be told for ages, as he is a person with tremendous talent and a national platform to tell it.
However, I just do not want the world to forget that there are many people out there like Josh, who need others to believe in them. Yes, they might not have the sports ability that Josh Hamilton has, but who knows what contribution can be made if someone would only reach out their hand and help. Josh is here today, wow'ing the crowd at Yankee stadium for a number of reasons, but most of all because people around him did not give up on him and kept trying to get him to believe in himself.
Please don't give up on the people around you who are struggling. Who knows, it might be your voice that they hear one night that guides them back to the promise that once shined. So yes the game to me was a little boring, but the story that I witnessed; the All-Star game in Yankee Stadium before its closing and the redemption of a fallen star, is one that I will never forget. Josh has changed his routine, never is out late at night, never carries to much cash and always knows that he has to take one day at a time, but he is here and he is fulfilling his promise. Thank you to those who never gave up on him and thank you to those who have never given up on the people like Josh Hamilton who are also fulfilling their promise today.
More info about Josh hamilton, see below....
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=3492395
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Hamilton






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