"Josh Hamiliton: Easily the Best Story in Baseball"

This is my first article writing for Bleacher Reports and i am sure somebody has already wrote on this topic before; however, i just wanted to make sure to give Josh Hamilton a shout out for my first article.

Each year as the baseball season winds on, we get slightly tired of rooting for our hometown teams and players(for me the Atlanta Braves) and begin to search out different surprises around the rest of baseball. Josh Hamilton was not totally a surprise to me, i have four fantasy baseball teams and i made it a goal to pick or draft him on everyone, but certainly i could not imagine how well he is playing and furthermore how inspiring his life truly is.

I knew the basics to his story; however, after watching his hot start i checked into the total story of him. This man got drafted number one overall and was sitting on top of the world. In his first year in single-a ball, he hit a home run over 550 feet. However, along with this fame and fortune he begin to turn to other things such as alcohol and drugs.

We all know his new found addiction led to him eventually being suspended several times and being forced out of the game. The inspiring part of this story is two years later when he straight drops these habits and gets back to living life the right way. Directly following, his natural ability leads him directly back to the major leagues and back into the spotlight.

After one solid season with the Reds, we all know he has exploded onto the scene with the Rangers. Furthermore, the biggest moment and the moment that has lead him to be my favorite professional athlete is the 2008 Home Run Derby. Not just because of the towering blast and the impressive display of natural power, but because of the God shout out and the his ability to recognize the things god has done for him in his life.

That was a proud moment for me, to see this man who had the whole world watching him thank god for the things he had done for him. It really helped me to remember that nothing i achieve in life is not without the grace of god.

Josh Hamilton, to me at least, is by far the best story in baseball this year. He is a true testament to the scripture that reads "through god anything is possible".