last night, Callie and i were sitting on the couch (after our 2-mile walk) and she turned on the TV. she started watching something about the Bachelorette. i was not interested so i got out my computer and started checking emails and junk like that. all of a sudden, i remembered that last night was the Home Run Derby (presented by State Farm) on ESPN. i waited until Callie was done with the Bachelorette and quickly turned it over to the HRD. we watched for a little bit and then turned over to one of our favorite shows – Hell’s Kitchen – but soon switched back to the derby and witnessed one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
last night, Josh Hamilton hit 28 home runs in the first round of the Home Run Derby. yeah, twenty-freakin-eight home runs! and they weren’t just barely over the fence. he was hitting balls 500 feet! total, he hit 28 baseballs over 12,000 feet – that averages out to 428.6 feet per home run. and to give you a reference, deep-center in Yankee Stadium is 408 feet. his longest home run of the night was 512 feet.
while that is very impressive, Hamilton’s story is equally impressive. all night on the telecast they were hinting at his story. this guy was the first overall pick in the 1999 draft. however, he never saw playing time until 2007. Hamilton was addicted to crack and was in rehab eight different times before he got clean in October 2005. he discovered a relationship with God and loves to share his story with anyone who will hear it.
this guy has a great story and i’m glad that he can go on national television, put on a display of power like he did last night, and then turn around and give all the glory back to God.
this is an article from ESPN the Magazine from when Josh was a rookie in 2007. the story is told from his perspective and it is incredible. if you’ve got time today, please go read it.
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