If you were watching the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby on Monday night (as part of the All-Star game festivities), you witnessed something pretty special. You witnessed Josh Hamilton, of the Texas Rangers, put on an incredible and historical display of home run hitting that would have made Babe Ruth himself proud. Hamilton hit a record 28 home runs in the first round of the contest and did so in impressive fashion by hitting several 500 foot bombs and at one point 13 consecutive.

Fans and players watched in awe as Hamilton thrilled everybody in attendance and watching at home. It does not even matter that Hamilton tired himself out and ended up losing the derby in the finals. His performance will still go down as a significant part of Yankee Stadium lore.

This is the last season for the historic Yankee Stadium, so that made this All-Star game very special in its own right. Hamilton's display made it even more magical. I guess if you have not heard it yet, I need to tell you the story of Hamilton's road to this point in time...

Hamilton was a "can't miss prospect" coming out of high school and he was the first overall pick in the 1999 draft by Tampa Bay. In 2001 he began to battle drug addiction and by 2003 he was basically out of baseball. He, by his own admission, was caught up with the wrong crowd and it quickly derailed his once promising career. Hamilton hit the lowest of lows, but showed intense will power fighting back from injuries and addiction. He gives God the credit for helping him battle his demons and giving him a second chance. That second chance came when the Cincinnati Reds gave him an opportunity last season (2007). His comeback last year was impressive enough, but he was traded in the off season to Texas and has proceeded to put up some of the best numbers in all of baseball this season. That's what brought him to New York for the All-Star game and created the occasion we all were entertained by on Monday night.

With that being said, I will now provide you with some words of two of my favorite sportswriters regarding Hamilton's feat. First, here is an excerpt from an article by ESPN's Jayson Stark with a link his entire article if you wanted to read the whole thing.

"With every move this man makes, every run he drives in, every baseball he mashes to some far-off sector of another stadium, you keep trying to convince yourself this is all happening. In real life. To a man who was so far down, so far out, so hopelessly buried in the jaws of drug addiction, it's a miracle he's even alive right now.
And then, the next thing you know, there he is on this stage, doing this beneath the eyeballs of America, in a ballpark that represents a living, breathing home run museum. Accompanied by his own 71-year-old personal pitcher named Claybon Counsil, summoned from North Carolina for this occasion, as Josh Hamilton's reward for all those BP fastballs Counsil has been serving up to anyone interested for the past three decades.
Friends, you can't make this stuff up.
But hold on. There's more. There's also Hamilton's dream. It's a famous dream now, a dream he had back in the winter of 2006. But it was a dream that made no sense at the time, because he had it at a time when he was still suspended from baseball for drug abuse, back when he was, therefore, about as far away from this place as a bunch of aliens from Neptune.
He'd dreamed that night that he was taking part in a Home Run Derby -- in Yankee Stadium. Of course. It was a dream that couldn't possibly come true. And then it did.
Whoa. Did it ever.
In the dream, though, he never saw himself actually swinging the bat. He remembers only being interviewed afterward on ESPN, and describing how he'd gotten to this miraculous point, through the power and the grace of God.
But now, here he was, 2½ long years later, and he got to find out how it all turned out. How beautiful was that?
‘This,' he said, ‘was like living the dream out, because like I've said, I didn't know the ending to that dream.'
Now, though -- now he knows. Now we all know. We saw a man have an evening in Yankee Stadium that told a story that ought to restore our faith in mankind.
So who cares if Josh Hamilton didn't ‘win' this derby? What he did win was bigger and better than any trophy.
‘More than anything else,' he said, ‘I'm glad my family got to see this. Whether I'd hit 50 or hit none, I'm sure this is hard for people to believe, but I wouldn't have been disappointed if I didn't hit any. I got a chance, when I was in the middle of that streak, to look up and see my mom and dad and family and everybody, just absolutely laughing and cheering. And I mean, that's priceless.'
Ah, but this was no MasterCard commercial, friends. This was the beauty of life itself.
There was a time not very long ago when none of them thought that moment, that joy, could possibly have happened to them. And then it did. On a heart-pumping Home Run Derby Monday inside the baseball temple that is Yankee Stadium.
So the record may show that Josh Hamilton didn't win this derby. But life will tell us -- and him -- otherwise."

Wow, that is great writing. It gives me goosebumps to just read his words. He mentions another incredible aspect of the event which is that Hamilton invited his "little league" coach from when he was a kid to pitch for him during the derby. Yes, this guy is now 71 years old and is just another gem in this magical story. I also really love the article that legendary Peter Gammons wrote regarding Hamilton and the impact he could have on the sport. Here, below, is the article in its entirety.

"Hamilton an inspiration in so many ways" by Peter Gammons
One of the best things about baseball is that someone else comes along and recreates being the hero. Out of the embers of the Black Sox scandal came Babe Ruth. As a nation regrouped between World War II and the Korean War, Jackie Robinson bravely changed the face of sports and American society.
After the strike that canceled the 1994 World Series and led to the coldest winter, along came Cal Ripken, the dignity and might of the Joe Torre/Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera Yankees, and then the summer of '98 with Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. And when that entire era went to black and the waste depository of the BALCO and aging clinics, Jose Canseco and gopher slimeballs reached the desk of George Mitchell and millions wondered if they could ever trust the sport again. There were 55,000 people at Yankee Stadium on Monday night -- most of whom knew less about Josh Hamilton than Darrell Rasner -- chanting Hamilton's name and rooting for a new hero.
Every revelation about Roger Clemens' past and every "collusion" noise that comes out of some parrot's beak has emphasized the need to move forward. That is why no team has signed Barry Bonds, who can still impact any lineup -- owners and general managers understandably don't want to talk about the past. They want to try to move on into an era with drug testing, in whatever form the morphed sport takes.
Two months ago, a general manager said we are watching the unfurling of two dramas we have never before seen in our lifetime, and may never see again. One is Rick Ankiel, who has played less than two years as a position player and is so good a center fielder and everyday player that he certainly could have been here for the All-Star Game, what with 20 homers, 50 RBIs, an .880 OPS and the defensive show he has put on in center field. To overcome his pitching nightmare of the 2000 playoffs, then after six years to become a hitter, and then overcome a blown-out knee... few players are better inspiration for the capacity to never back down or give up.
By now, Hamilton's story of overcoming demons is two blocks from Hollywood. Oh, it's easy to give it a Nancy Reagan "he made a choice" and so on and so on and so on and so on, but the fact is that millions of people in this country get addicted to drugs and ruin their lives. Hamilton beat his demons and is a hero for millions trying to fight back. Our heroes can be flawed. The Babe certainly was. Hamilton never stops reminding us that he, too, is flawed and that he's not ashamed to admit it and never will stop fighting.
Josh Hamilton turned the page in his life, and Monday night he helped baseball begin the long, dry healing process of turning the page on the Dark Ages. Baseball is not about corporate boxes and extracting licensing pennies from poor kids or taxpayer dollars donated to construct ballparks to help billionaires make millions. It is about Babe Ruth changing the sports culture, Jackie Robinson changing America and Cal Ripken changing lives. Baseball has always been able to turn the page because of someone and something always grew up out of the rubble, and Josh Hamilton began the process of turning the page on Monday night.
It is unbelievable what he has done, and now the nation knows it. Hamilton matters and when we saw his friends like Milton Bradley, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young embrace the moment and the future, we saw the awe and the appreciation in their eyes. These are not the best of times in America, but we look at baseball and see Ankiel. We see what Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez have overcome to reach stardom. We see an Athletics pitcher named Brad Ziegler come back from two fractured skulls and take a run at the record for most shutout innings to begin a career. And then we watch 55,000 New Yorkers standing and chanting Josh Hamilton's name. We are reminded that baseball can help us remember what we stand for, not against, what we believe, not what we fear, and that while we learn from the past, what we all want is to open the door to the future.

I know that's a lot, but I felt both of those articles were so appropriate and so well done that I just needed to share them with you. Now that you read all of that, here is a link to a homemade video highlighting Josh Hamilton's incredible performance. It was amazing watching it live, but you can get a little bit of the feeling from watching the video.

With so many negative stories in the world of sports and the world we live in today, I am just ecstatic to see such a positive story of faith and perseverance. Obviously, it would have been better if Hamilton would have resisted the temptations and proved to be a better role model earlier in his life, but it is satisfying and motivating to see someone overcome those obstacles and accomplish his dreams. I can't say much else that has not already been said (other than that I am very proud to have drafted Hamilton for my fantasy baseball team way back in April).

That will wrap up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. I wanted to post this sooner, but just didn't have time until now. Thanks, as always, for reading. Please consider subscribing or at least bookmarking this site in your favorites so that you can come back often and never miss any new issues. Also be sure to check the Archives in the upper left hand column to find any past issues of Kickin' it. Peace and much love.

Check this out: ESPN just recently held their annual auction to raise money for the V Foundation. The V Foundation is a charitable organization started in the name of former NC State college basketball coach Jimmy Valvano who died of cancer. It is dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer. The Foundation seeks to make a difference by generating broad-based support for cancer research and by creating an urgent awareness among all Americans of the importance of the war against cancer. The Foundation performs these dual roles through advocacy, education, fundraising and philanthropy. Every little bit helps and progress is being made. Here is a link to the V Foundation website where you can find out more about Jimmy V himself and the Foundation as well as donate to the cause.

Quote of the day: "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." -Jimmy Valvano (spoken in a famous speech made shortly before he passed away in 1993)

Download this: "Have It All" by Jeremy Kay - From the soundtrack for the television series Scrubs