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Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). In addition to his original tenure with the Rangers (2008–2012, 2015- Present), he has also played for the Cincinnati Reds (2007) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2013–2014) . He is a five-time MLB All-Star and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2010. He was the first overall pick in the 1999 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.〔 He was considered a blue chip prospect until injuries and a drug addiction derailed his career, beginning in 2001. Prior to the 2007 season, Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs (picking for the Reds) in the Rule 5 Draft.〔 During the off-season he was traded to the Rangers. During the 2008 season, Hamilton was named to the AL All-Star team. He also participated in the Home Run Derby, where he hit a record 28 home runs in the opening round and finished with 35 home runs, which was second-most all-time in derby history.〔 〕 He made the All-Star team the next four seasons as well. In 2012, Hamilton received more votes than any other player on the All-Star Game ballot, besting by approximately 3.5 million votes the vote count set in 2011 by Jose Bautista. Hamilton won the AL batting title in 2010. On October 22, 2010, Hamilton was selected as MVP of the 2010 ALCS. On November 23, 2010, Hamilton was named the 2010 AL MVP, earning 22 of 28 first-place votes. On May 8, 2012 Hamilton became the 16th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a game, all 4 home runs were 2 run home runs, and he set an AL record for total bases in a game with 18. ==Early career== Hamilton was born and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, playing little league baseball alongside former South Carolina and Oakland Athletics catcher Landon Powell.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title='Tomorrow's always a new day' )〕 Hamilton attended Athens Drive High School, in Raleigh, North Carolina where he starred as both a pitcher and outfielder. As a 6'4 200 pound high school senior, Hamilton ran the 60 yard dash in 6.7 seconds and was clocked at 97 MPH on the mound. After hitting .529 in 25 games with 13 homers, 20 steals, 35 RBIs and 34 runs scored, Hamilton was widely considered one of the top two prospects for the 1999 MLB Draft, along with Josh Beckett, a Texas high school product.〔"JockBio: Josh Hamilton Biography", n.d. http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/J_Hamilton/J_Hamilton_bio.html〕 The Tampa Bay Devil Rays owned the number one pick and on June 2, selected Hamilton with the first overall selection. Hamilton signed with Tampa Bay, receiving a $3.96 million signing bonus, and joined their minor league system. His first stop in the minors was the rookie level Princeton Devil Rays of the Appalachian League where he played 56 games. He later joined the Hudson Valley Renegades, and helped lead them to their first New York-Penn League championship. He spent the season with the Charleston RiverDogs in the South Atlantic League. Hamilton enjoyed a breakout season where he hit .301 average in 96 games, with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs. He was also selected to the South Atlantic League All Star game and took home MVP honors after 2–6 with two triples and two runs scored.〔"Sports: Former Top Pick Set for Surgery", n.d. http://www.sptimes.com/News/080500/Sports/Former_top_pick_set_f.shtml〕 In addition, Hamilton was named to the 2000 All-Star Futures Game, a game designed to showcase minor league prospects. Hamilton was also voted Minor League Player of the year by ''USA Today''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/josh-hamilton.shtml )〕 At the start of his pro career, Hamilton's parents quit their jobs so they could travel with their son. Prior to the season, Hamilton was involved in an automobile accident. His mother and father were also injured in the accident, but they recuperated from their injuries. This also marked the time Hamilton started hanging around a tattoo parlor, which consequently led to his experimenting with drugs and alcohol. The 2001 season also marked the beginning of his drug and alcohol use, and he made his first attempt at rehabilitation.〔 Hamilton only played 45 games in the 2001 season, split between Charleston (A-Ball) and the Orlando Rays, a Double-A team in the Southern League. Hamilton began the season with the Bakersfield Blaze, batting .303 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 56 games before his season came to an end due to lingering toe and neck injuries.〔 The Devil Rays noticed a change in Hamilton and reacted by sending him to the Betty Ford Center for drug rehabilitation. During Spring Training of the 2003 season, Hamilton failed his first drug test. At the start of the season, Hamilton showed up late several times during spring training and was reassigned to the team's minor league camp. He left the team and resurfaced several times, but eventually took the rest of the season off for personal reasons. Hamilton was hoping to return to spring training with the Devil Rays in , but he was suspended 30 days and fined for violating the drug policy put in place by MLB. Because of the length of his suspension, and the terms of the drug policy, Hamilton could have failed two or more drug tests after being put into the program. A "failed" test is one in which there is a positive result for a drug more severe than marijuana. A month later, MLB suspended him for the entire season after he failed two more tests. Hamilton was out of baseball for almost three years. He made several attempts at rehabilitation, and started off the season with hopes of being a star major league outfielder. However, he was arrested before the season for smashing the windshield of a friend's truck. The Rays placed him on the restricted list, moving him off the 40-man roster. After another relapse, MLB suspended him for the entire 2006 season.〔 During the days of his most prolific abuse, Hamilton met a businessman named Michael Chadwick who made an attempt to steer him in the right direction. It was through this relationship that he ended up meeting his wife, Katie, who was Chadwick's daughter.〔 His return to baseball was helped along by former minor league outfielder and manager Roy Silver, who owns a baseball academy in Florida. After hearing about Hamilton's desire to return to baseball, Silver offered the use of his facility if Hamilton agreed to work there. Hamilton first started working at Silver's Academy in January 2006. His duties included cleaning the bathrooms and raking the infield. He spent his nights sleeping on an air mattress in one of the facilities offices. After several months there, Hamilton attempted to play with an independent minor league team, but MLB stepped in and disallowed it. Hamilton was allowed to work out with the Devil Rays minor league players starting on June 2, 2006. By the end of the month, he was allowed to participate in minor league games.〔〔 In order for this to happen, the Rays had to run Hamilton through waivers, making him available for any team for $20,000. No team put a claim in for him. He played 15 games with the Hudson Valley Renegades at the end of the 2006 season.〔 In addition to returning to baseball, Hamilton also served as a cautionary tale for his young teammates with the Renegades. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Josh Hamilton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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