Age: 29 (May
21)
3rd season
with Rangers
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’4” Weight: 240
Prior to 2010:
A native of
Raleigh, North Carolina, Hamilton came from an athletic family. A top hitter
and pitcher at Athens Drive High School, he was honored as North Carolina
Player of the Year as a senior. Chosen by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the first
overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft, Hamilton signed for a $3.96 million
bonus and, initially assigned to Princeton of the Rookie-level Appalachian
League, the 18-year-old phenom played center field and batted .347 over 56
games with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs. He was named to the league All-Star team.
In August he moved up to Hudson Valley of the Class A New York-Pennsylvania
League and hit .429 in the postseason as Hudson Valley won the league
championship. In 2000 he was with the Charleston River Dogs of the Class A
South Atlantic League and batted .302 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 96 games
until he went down with an injury to his right knee that required season-ending
surgery. He was still selected to the league All-Star team despite his
shortened season. In the offseason he was involved in a motor vehicle accident
that injured his back. He began to drink heavily and use drugs, resulting in
his being sent to the Betty Ford Clinic. Sent back to Charleston when he came
off the disabled list, Hamilton suffered further injury that again ended his
season prematurely. Assigned to the Arizona Fall League, he lasted only two
games before another injury. Hamilton was next assigned to Bakersfield of the
high Class A California League in 2002 and batted .303 in 56 games with 9 home
runs and 44 RBIs while utilized primarily as a Designated Hitter. Following
surgery on his elbow and shoulder, he reported to spring training in 2003 and
failed a drug test, leading to his suspension. Unable to pass drug tests later
in 2003 or in 2004, Hamilton found himself out of baseball. Finally cleaning up
his act and getting back into training, he was chosen by the Chicago Cubs in
the 2006 Rule 5 draft. Sold to the Cincinnati Reds, who were seeking outfield
depth, he spent time in Class A. He caught on with the Reds in 2007 where, over
the course of 90 games he hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBIs. The Rangers
obtained Hamilton in the offseason by dealing two pitching prospects to Cincinnati.
He had an outstanding season for his new team in 2008, both hitting and in the
field, as he batted .304 with 32 home runs and led the AL with both 130 RBIs
and 331 total bases. An All-Star for the first time, he also placed seventh in
league MVP voting and was awarded a Silver Slugger. The Rangers were a
second-place team in 2009 although Hamilton suffered through an injury-plagued
season in which he underwent surgery for an abdominal tear. Returning to action
in time for the All-Star Game, he went on to appear in 89 games and hit .268
with 10 home runs and 54 RBIs. With expectations high for 2010, Hamilton agreed
to shift to left field due to the presence of promising young center fielder
Julio Borbon.
2010 Season Summary
Appeared in 133
games
LF – 92, CF –
40, DH – 13, PH – 4
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 571
At Bats – 518
Runs – 95 [12]
Hits – 186 [6,
tied with Michael Young]
Doubles – 40
[12]
Triples – 3
Home Runs – 32
[5, tied with David Ortiz]
RBI – 100 [12]
Bases on Balls
– 43
Int. BB – 5
Strikeouts – 95
Stolen Bases – 8
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .359
[1]
OBP - .411 [2]
Slugging Pct. -
.633 [1]
Total Bases – 328
[4]
GDP – 11
Hit by Pitches
– 5
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 4
League-leading
batting average was +.031 ahead of runner-up Miguel Cabrera
League-leading
slugging percentage was +.011 ahead of runner-up Miguel Cabrera
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 22, RBI – 64, AVG - .346, SLG – .625
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 6 AB) at Houston 6/20 – 10 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 23 games
HR at home – 22
HR on road – 10
Most home runs,
game – 1 on 32 occasions
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Boston 4/21 – 12 innings
Pinch-hitting –
2 of 2 (1.000) with 2 BB & 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 267
Put Outs – 254
Assists – 9
Errors – 4
DP – 2
Pct. - .985
Postseason: 16
G (ALDS vs. Tampa Bay – 5 G; ALCS vs. NY Yankees – 6 G; World Series vs. San
Francisco – 5 G)
PA – 69, AB – 58,
R – 9, H – 11, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 5, RBI – 9, BB – 11, IBB – 5, SO – 13, SB –
4, CS – 1, AVG - .190, OBP - .319, SLG - .466, TB – 27, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH –
0, SF – 0
ALCS MVP
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Silver Slugger
All-Star
(Started for AL in CF)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Josh Hamilton,
Tex.: 358 pts. - 22 of 28 first place votes, 91% share
Miguel Cabrera,
Det.: 262 pts. – 5 first place votes, 67% share
Robinson Cano,
NYY.: 229 pts. – 58% share
Jose Bautista,
Tor.: 165 pts. – 1 first place vote, 42% share
Paul Konerko,
ChiWS.: 130 pts. – 33% share
---
Rangers went 90-72
to finish first in the AL Western Division by 9 games over the Oakland
Athletics while leading the league in hits (1556) and batting (.276). Won ALDS
over the Tampa Bay Rays, 3 games to 2 & ALCS over the New York Yankees, 4
games to 2 for the first league pennant in franchise history. Lost World Series
to the San Francisco Giants, 4 games to 1.
Aftermath of 2010:
The Rangers won
the AL pennant again in 2011 and Hamilton, who had signed a two-year, $24
million contract extension, contributed 25 home runs, 94 RBIs, and a .298
batting average while appearing in 121 games during another injury-interrupted
season. In the World Series, his towering home run in the tenth inning of Game
6 gave the Rangers a two-run lead that they were unable to hold, as the St.
Louis Cardinals went on to win the game and, the next night, the Series. In 2012 Hamilton hit a
record-tying four home runs in a game at Baltimore on his way to 43 for the
year along with 128 RBIs and a .285 average. In the offseason he signed a
five-year, $125 million free agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
Hamilton had a disappointing 2013 season as he batted .250 with 21 home runs
and 79 RBIs. Injuries in 2014, including one to his left thumb that required
surgery, limited him to 89 games in which he hit .263 with 10 home runs and 44
RBIs. Traded back to the Rangers in the spring of 2015, Hamilton was limited to
50 games by injuries and batted only .253 with 8 home runs. Knee problems that
required multiple surgeries kept him out of major league action in 2016 and he
was released by Texas in August. An attempt to return to the Rangers as a first
baseman failed in the spring of 2017 as he suffered further knee problems, thus
effectively ending his career. Overall for his major league career Hamilton
batted .290 with 1134 hits that included 234 doubles, 24 triples, and 200 home
runs. He further scored 609 runs and compiled 701 RBIs and 50 stolen bases and
had a .516 career slugging percentage. With the Rangers he batted .302 with 814
hits, 164 doubles, 17 triples, 150 home runs, 531 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases.
Appearing in 42 postseason games he hit .202 with 6 home runs and 23 RBIs. Hamilton
was a five-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger recipient. Although he
never failed a drug test after reaching the major leagues, he did admit to
relapses with both drugs and alcohol during his playing career and has
encountered legal problems in retirement.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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