Reds' Hamilton a Real-life Hobbs
Tanner Munroe
Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: Sports
His wife, fearful of his behavior around their young daughters kicked her husband out. Hamilton, separated from his wife, agreed to see a psychologist. Something immediately began to click. He visited his wife and daughters, and the turning point came one day when he was holding his youngest daughter and he began to sob. He realized how much he had let everyone down and how he had strayed from the path that was supposed to make him one of the best.
He then began a long and hard road to try and get back into the game of baseball. It began with him constantly being told by teams across the nation that he could not play for them because of his past. MLB, in a way, acted as POPS from the movie "The Natural." They shut him out and would not give him a chance to show if he still had the talent.
However, in 2006 Hamilton got his shot with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the team that had originally drafted him. He played in 15 minor league games. During the off-season Hamilton trained hard, and during the Rule 5 draft this past December he was eventually picked up by the Cincinnati Reds. His contract was not guaranteed, but the Reds felt he was good enough to be given a chance. If he performed well he might see some rare playing time.
Hamilton's reaction to the Reds' risk was similar to the way Hobbs responded when finally given a second chance. He crushed the ball in spring training and impressed the team enough to the point where they decided to sign him to a one-year contract.
Now, due to injuries that are plaguing the team, Hamilton has been given the opportunity to play on the big league level. He has started in 13 of the Reds 22 games this season, and has been putting up monster numbers. Just like Hobbs, Hamilton is pulling himself out of the dark and putting himself into the limelight. At the age of 25 he could still have a long and successful career ahead of him, but it is all just a matter of if he can stay on top the way Roy Hobbs did, and avoid all the distractions that once made him lose it all.
As of April 27th, Hamilton is one of the top ten home run leaders in the majors, with six, and he is following that up with a .294 average, 12 RBI's, 11 runs, and a stolen base. He is on pace right now for a monster year, and all of his numbers come with the asterisk of about 30 less at bats than the people ahead of him, because he was not even close to a starter when the year began. Right now, the Reds are 3.5 games back in the National League Central, but if Hamilton keeps up his great play, and the Reds can pick up some momentum then they could possibly run away with their division.
The fate of the Reds will not rest on Hamilton's shoulders like the fictional New York Knights team relied on Hobbs. Regardless, it would not hurt if Hamilton's story ends the way Hobbs originally spoke about himself: "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."
He then began a long and hard road to try and get back into the game of baseball. It began with him constantly being told by teams across the nation that he could not play for them because of his past. MLB, in a way, acted as POPS from the movie "The Natural." They shut him out and would not give him a chance to show if he still had the talent.
However, in 2006 Hamilton got his shot with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the team that had originally drafted him. He played in 15 minor league games. During the off-season Hamilton trained hard, and during the Rule 5 draft this past December he was eventually picked up by the Cincinnati Reds. His contract was not guaranteed, but the Reds felt he was good enough to be given a chance. If he performed well he might see some rare playing time.
Hamilton's reaction to the Reds' risk was similar to the way Hobbs responded when finally given a second chance. He crushed the ball in spring training and impressed the team enough to the point where they decided to sign him to a one-year contract.
Now, due to injuries that are plaguing the team, Hamilton has been given the opportunity to play on the big league level. He has started in 13 of the Reds 22 games this season, and has been putting up monster numbers. Just like Hobbs, Hamilton is pulling himself out of the dark and putting himself into the limelight. At the age of 25 he could still have a long and successful career ahead of him, but it is all just a matter of if he can stay on top the way Roy Hobbs did, and avoid all the distractions that once made him lose it all.
As of April 27th, Hamilton is one of the top ten home run leaders in the majors, with six, and he is following that up with a .294 average, 12 RBI's, 11 runs, and a stolen base. He is on pace right now for a monster year, and all of his numbers come with the asterisk of about 30 less at bats than the people ahead of him, because he was not even close to a starter when the year began. Right now, the Reds are 3.5 games back in the National League Central, but if Hamilton keeps up his great play, and the Reds can pick up some momentum then they could possibly run away with their division.
The fate of the Reds will not rest on Hamilton's shoulders like the fictional New York Knights team relied on Hobbs. Regardless, it would not hurt if Hamilton's story ends the way Hobbs originally spoke about himself: "The best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be."
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