Josh Hamilton: The AL MVP Makes The Best of His Second Chance at Baseball

On Tuesday, Major league Baseball announced that Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton would be named the American League Most Valuable Player.

Hamilton's accomplishments on the field this season were certainly worthy of the award, and a majority of the writers thought so, as he received 22 of a possible 28 first-place votes.

What makes Hamilton's success so unlikely is his difficult past. Just a few years ago, Hamilton had to leave baseball due to an ongoing battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

Since, the Rangers superstar has cleaned up and found support in family and teammates.

This season's accolades and certainly the AL MVP speak volumes to how far Hamilton has come since those dark times.

Hamilton was very humble in a conference call on Tuesday, stating that the award was an honor and he had nothing but good things to say about the other candidates.

There is no arguing that the 29-year-old slugger was deserving of the award, but it's most likely his story that resonated with writers.

Still, though, Hamilton led the majors with a .359 batting average and a .633 slugging percentage.

There is little doubt, however, that Hamilton's story is a feel-good one. His performance at the Home Run Derby two years ago officially put him on the map, at least for casual baseball fans.

It was then that many people began to learn his story and suddenly empathized with Hamilton's situation.

Now, the story has come full circle: The star prospect enters the league, struggles with the game while wrestling addiction and personal demons for some time, then cleans up to return as the face of the league and a role model to millions.

Patrick Clarke is a student at Towson University and a writing intern for Bleacher Report.