Josh Hamilton
Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2015.[1] Selected as the first overall pick in the 1999 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays out of Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, Hamilton was regarded as a top prospect with exceptional power, speed, and defensive skills.[1] However, his early career was derailed by a battle with drug and alcohol addiction that began shortly after being drafted, leading to multiple suspensions and a three-year absence from professional baseball between 2003 and 2006.[2] Hamilton achieved sobriety in October 2005 and was reinstated by MLB in June 2006, marking the start of his remarkable comeback.[2] He made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007 after being selected by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft and subsequently traded to Cincinnati, where he hit .292 with 19 home runs in 90 games.[1] Traded to the Texas Rangers prior to the 2008 season, Hamilton emerged as one of the league's premier players, earning five consecutive All-Star selections from 2008 to 2012, three Silver Slugger Awards in 2008, 2010, and 2012, and the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2010 after batting .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs.[1][3] He also won the ALCS MVP in 2010, helping the Rangers reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history, and famously won the 2008 Home Run Derby.[4] In December 2012, Hamilton signed a five-year, $125 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels, but injuries and a relapse involving alcohol and cocaine in 2015 limited his production and led to his departure from the team.[5] He attempted a comeback with the Rangers in 2017 but was released without appearing in a major league game that year, effectively ending his playing career.[6] Over his MLB tenure, Hamilton compiled a .290 batting average, 200 home runs, and 701 RBIs across 1,027 games, primarily as a center and left fielder.[1] In 2025, he was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, recognizing his contributions to the team's success and his inspirational story of redemption.[7]Early life
Family and childhood
Joshua Holt Hamilton was born on May 21, 1981, in Raleigh, North Carolina, to working-class parents Tony and Linda Hamilton.[8] He has an older brother named Jason.[8] Hamilton grew up in a supportive family environment in the Raleigh area, where sports played a central role.[9] His father, Tony, a physically strong figure known in family lore for bench-pressing 540 pounds at age 19, coached Josh and Jason through various youth sports, including little league baseball teams.[2] The family attended church regularly, fostering a values-driven upbringing.[10] From an early age, Hamilton showed a keen interest in baseball, starting to play organized little league around age six under his father's guidance and quickly excelling in local competitions.[11] Beyond baseball, his childhood included hobbies such as fishing and other outdoor activities, which helped build his character and appreciation for family time.[8]High school baseball and amateur draft
Josh Hamilton attended Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he emerged as one of the nation's top baseball prospects.[12] Playing primarily as a shortstop and pitcher, Hamilton showcased exceptional athleticism, including a fastball that reached 96 mph on the radar gun during his senior year.[13] In that season, he batted .529 with 13 home runs and 35 RBIs in 25 games, setting a school record for homers and earning recognition as a two-time North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year.[14] His performance also led to selections on the Collegiate Baseball All-America team and Baseball America's High School All-America first team, as well as the outlet's High School Player of the Year award.[15][16] Hamilton's high school dominance made him the consensus top pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball amateur draft, where he was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at age 18.[12] The team signed him to a minor league contract shortly after, including a $3.96 million signing bonus—the largest ever given to a high school player at the time.[17] Following the signing, Hamilton received his initial professional assignment to the rookie-level Princeton Devil Rays of the Appalachian League, where he began adapting to minor league play in 1999.[18]Professional career
Minor leagues and Rule 5 draft
Following his selection as the first overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Hamilton began his professional career in the organization's minor league system.[18] In his debut season, he appeared in 72 games split between the rookie-level Princeton Devil Rays, where he hit .345 with 10 home runs, and the short-season Class A Hudson Valley Renegades.[18] The following year, 2000, Hamilton progressed to full-season Class A with the Charleston RiverDogs, enjoying a breakout performance with a .302 batting average, 13 home runs, and 61 RBIs over 96 games, showcasing his power and speed potential.[18][19] Hamilton's momentum was interrupted in 2001 by injuries from a March car accident involving a dump truck collision, which caused a lingering lower-back issue and sidelined him for most of the season, limiting him to just 27 minor-league games across Class A Charleston and Double-A Orlando, where he batted .200.[8][20] During his extended recovery period in Florida, away from his parents, Hamilton began experimenting with alcohol and, eventually, cocaine, marking the onset of his substance abuse struggles that would derail his early career.[21] He rebounded somewhat in 2002, playing 56 games for High-A Bakersfield Blaze with a .303 average and nine home runs, but his issues escalated thereafter.[19] From 2003 to 2005, Hamilton was absent from organized baseball due to repeated violations of MLB's drug policy, including a full-season suspension in 2004 after failing multiple tests, placing him on the restricted list and halting his professional progress entirely.[21][8] Reinstated with limited privileges in June 2006, he was optioned to the Hudson Valley Renegades, where he played 15 games in July, batting .260.[14][18] That December, with Hamilton unprotected on the Devil Rays' 40-man roster, the Chicago Cubs selected him third overall in the major-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft from the Tampa Bay organization.[17] The Cubs immediately traded him to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations, obligating the Reds to keep him on their active major-league roster for the entire 2007 season or return him to Tampa Bay for $25,000.[17][22] This selection provided Hamilton a fresh opportunity to revive his career after years of setbacks.[17]Major League debut with Cincinnati Reds
Following his selection by the Chicago Cubs in the 2006 Rule 5 draft from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, Hamilton was immediately traded to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations on December 7, 2006.[23] This acquisition gave the Reds rights to the former top prospect under Rule 5 conditions, requiring them to keep him on their active major league roster for the entire 2007 season or offer him back to the Rays.[17] Hamilton made his major league debut on April 2, 2007, at Great American Ball Park against the Chicago Cubs, entering as a defensive replacement in center field during the eighth inning of a 7-3 Reds loss.[12] The crowd gave him a prolonged standing ovation, recognizing his remarkable journey back to professional baseball after years away due to personal challenges.[20] He recorded his first major league hit—and home run—eight days later on April 10 in Arizona, launching a leadoff solo shot off Diamondbacks pitcher Edgar Gonzalez in a 8-3 Reds victory. In 90 games primarily as a center fielder during the 2007 season, Hamilton batted .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI, showcasing the power and plate discipline that had marked him as a top prospect nearly a decade earlier.[12] His transition to a full-time outfield role was seamless, as he logged 71 games in center field while adapting to the demands of major league defense after limited recent playing time in the minors.[12] However, injuries hampered his consistency, including a sprained right wrist that sidelined him from July 8 to July 24 and a strained right hamstring in mid-September that limited him to just four games over the final three weeks of the season.[24][25] Hamilton's promising debut season ended with the Reds trading him to the Texas Rangers on December 21, 2007, in exchange for pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera, fulfilling the Rule 5 obligations by moving him rather than returning him to the Rays.[26] The deal, later valued at approximately $2.7 million in equivalent talent based on Volquez's subsequent performance, marked the conclusion of Hamilton's brief but impactful stint in Cincinnati.[27]First stint with Texas Rangers
After being traded to the Texas Rangers from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2007, Josh Hamilton began his first extended tenure with the team in 2008, transitioning to a full-time outfielder primarily in center and left field.[14] In his debut season, he played 156 games, batting .304 with 32 home runs and leading the American League with 130 RBIs, earning his first All-Star selection and a Silver Slugger Award.[12] The following year, 2009, Hamilton appeared in 89 games due to injuries, hitting .268 with 10 home runs, but still made the All-Star team.[12] Hamilton's performance peaked in 2010, when he won the American League Most Valuable Player Award after batting .359 with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs in 133 games, leading the AL in slugging percentage (.633) and OPS (1.044).[12] He participated in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game that year. In 2011, Hamilton batted .298 with 25 home runs in 121 games and earned another All-Star nod; during the Rangers' second consecutive World Series appearance, they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games, but Hamilton hit a 2-run home run in the 10th inning of Game 6 to give Texas a 9-7 lead in a game they ultimately lost 10-9 in the 11th.[14] The 2012 season saw Hamilton hit 43 home runs and drive in 128 RBIs while batting .285 in 148 games, securing his third Silver Slugger Award and fourth consecutive All-Star selection, though injuries limited his late-season play.[12] Over his first stint from 2008 to 2012, Hamilton compiled a .304 batting average with 142 home runs in 647 games, establishing himself as a clubhouse leader and key figure in the Rangers' rise as contenders. His contributions were pivotal in the Rangers' World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011, where he played 27 postseason games with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs, slugging .444.[12] In 2008, he set a Home Run Derby record with 35 total home runs, including 28 in the first round, though he lost the final.[28]Tenure with Los Angeles Angels
Following his standout 2012 season with the Texas Rangers, where he batted .285 with 43 home runs and earned All-Star honors, Josh Hamilton signed a five-year, $125 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels on December 13, 2012.[29] The deal, which included $25 million annually, positioned Hamilton as a key addition to the Angels' lineup alongside Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, aiming to bolster their postseason chances.[30] In 2013, Hamilton appeared in 151 games for the Angels, batting .250 with 21 home runs and 79 RBIs, a decline from his Rangers peak but still earning him a selection to the American League All-Star team.[14] He struggled particularly at Angel Stadium, where the park's dimensions and marine layer suppressed his power, contributing to only 11 of his home runs coming at home.[31] Following the season, Hamilton underwent surgery on his right knee during the offseason to address lingering issues from earlier injuries.[32] The 2014 season was marred by injuries for Hamilton, limiting him to 89 games with a .263 batting average, 10 home runs, and 44 RBIs; all 10 homers occurred on the road, highlighting ongoing power struggles in Angel Stadium.[33][31] Shoulder discomfort, including issues with his right AC joint, sidelined him for much of September, requiring cortisone shots and contributing to fan frustration as boos echoed during his home at-bats.[34] In February 2015, he underwent surgery on his right shoulder, expected to sideline him for 6-8 weeks.[35] Hamilton's 2015 tenure began poorly, with a .217 average in the early going amid reports of a drug relapse involving cocaine and alcohol during the offseason, which he self-reported but resulted in no MLB suspension after review.[36] He played just 50 games for the Angels, batting .253 with 0 home runs before the team traded him. Over his full time with the Angels from 2013 to mid-2015, Hamilton posted a .255 batting average with 31 home runs in 240 games, a period defined by health setbacks and escalating criticism from fans, who frequently booed him at Angel Stadium for perceived underperformance relative to his contract.[37][38]Second stint with Texas Rangers
On April 27, 2015, following a challenging period with the Los Angeles Angels involving multiple injuries and a relapse into substance abuse, Josh Hamilton was traded back to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations or a player to be named later.[39][40] During the 2015 season, Hamilton appeared in 50 games for the Rangers, posting a .253 batting average with 8 home runs and 25 RBIs.[1] His performance showed flashes of his former power, including a multi-home run game in late May, but was hampered by recurring physical issues.[41] The season ended prematurely when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list in August due to left knee inflammation.[42] In 2016, Hamilton's availability was severely limited by knee problems; he underwent arthroscopic surgery in February, followed by an ACL reconstruction in June, resulting in no major league appearances.[43] These marked his third and fourth knee surgeries within a year, contributing to the Rangers placing him on unconditional release waivers on August 23.[44] Hamilton signed a minor league contract with the Rangers on January 17, 2017, including an invitation to spring training, in hopes of mounting a comeback.[45] However, he suffered yet another left knee injury while rehabilitating the previous one during spring training, leading to his release on April 21.[46] Over his second stint with the Rangers from 2015 to 2017, Hamilton played in 50 games with a .253 batting average.[12] Injuries ultimately prevented further play, effectively ending his major league career.[47]Retirement and career statistics
Hamilton effectively retired from professional baseball in 2017 at the age of 36, following multiple knee surgeries and a failed attempt to return to the field that year.[46] After being released by the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in April 2017, he made no further comeback efforts, ending his playing career hampered by chronic injuries that limited him to just 50 games in 2015. In 2025, he was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.[48] Over 10 seasons in Major League Baseball from 2007 to 2015, primarily with the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels, Hamilton appeared in 1,038 games, compiling a .290 batting average with 1,134 hits, 200 home runs, and 701 runs batted in.[12] His career on-base percentage stood at .349, complemented by a .516 slugging percentage and an .865 OPS, reflecting his power-hitting prowess and consistent ability to reach base.[12] According to Baseball-Reference, Hamilton generated 28.1 wins above replacement (WAR) over his career, underscoring his value as an elite outfielder despite injury interruptions.[12]| Statistic | Career Total |
|---|---|
| Games Played | 1,038 |
| Batting Average | .290 |
| Home Runs | 200 |
| Runs Batted In | 701 |
| On-Base Percentage | .349 |
| Wins Above Replacement | 28.1 |