Josh Hamilton Biography
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
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Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981, in Raleigh, North Carolina) is a Major League Baseball All Star outfielder for the Texas Rangers.
Hamilton started to play baseball from the age of 8 to be like his older brother, growing up in North Carolina. Hamilton is of Scottish and a little English descent.
He was the first overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was considered a blue chip prospect until injuries and a drug addiction derailed his career in 2001. Prior to the 2007 season, Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs (picking for the Cincinnati Reds) in the Rule 5 Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2007 with the Reds and had a successful rookie season. During the off-season he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Daniel Ray Herrera.
After his torrid start to the 2008 season, Hamilton was named to the American League All Star team, and made the All-Star team the next two seasons as well. He also participated in the Home Run Derby, where he hit a record 28 home runs in the opening round and finished with 35 home runs, which was second-most all-time in derby history. Hamilton won the AL batting title in 2010. On October 22, 2010, Hamilton was selected as MVP of the 2010 ALCS. On November 23, 2010, Hamilton was named the 2010 AL MVP, earning 22 of 28 first-place votes.
In 2010, Hamilton was moved to left field to put young outfielder Julio Borbon in center field. As in his prior two seasons with the Rangers, Hamilton was again selected to start in the 2010 All-Star Game, as one of six members of the Rangers to represent the franchise at the All-Star Game. Hamilton entered the All-Star Break with a .346 batting average, second in the AL to Miguel Cabrera’s. 346 batting average.
On August 27, he set a Ranger record with his 24th three-hit game of the season. On September 4, Hamilton bruised his rib cage after making a leaping catch into the outfield wall. He was sidelined for almost a month and returned to play with only three games left in the regular season. He hit a home run the next day.
His talent and popularity have earned him a litany of nicknames including “The Hammer”; “Hambino”, referencing to the great Babe Ruth; “The Natural”; and “Hambone” his high school nickname tattooed on his arm.
Hamilton hit for a league-leading .359 average in 2010, winning his first batting title. This was the fourth-best batting average since the end of the 2004 season. He also finished fourth in Major League Baseball in On-Base Percentage (.411), first in Slugging Percentage (.633) and On-Base Plus Slugging (1.044), and tied for tenth in home runs (32), despite missing 29 games due to an injury. He was also one of just 25 players to have 100 RBIs. His performance in 2010 made him a front-runner for the AL MVP Award. Hamilton won the AL Players Choice Award for Outstanding Player in 2010.
On October 22, Hamilton and the Rangers won the 2010 ALCS. It was the first time in Rangers history they had gone to a World Series. To get there they had to beat the defending Champions the New York Yankees. With four home runs, 7 RBIs, and the recipient of several intentional walks in the AL Championship Series win against the Yankees, he won the ALCS MVP Award. On November 23, 2010 Hamilton was voted the AL MVP.
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