'Like boxing, baseball makes for great storylines, which can in turn compel great literature. And great movies. And for my admission fee, The Natural (1984) is the greatest baseball film of all time. It was brought to mind, and mentioned more than a handful of times during last night’s Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, which was part of this year’s All-Star Game festivities. Josh Hamilton’s 28 home runs in a single round of the derby broke the previous record of 24 (and included a couple of dingers that flirted with the apparently unattained goal [a claim that’s disputed in baseball lore] of sending one clear out of The House that Ruth Built].
But the storyline here is not about the derby record. It’s all about Hamilton. Like Roy Hobbs, Robert Redford’s character in The Natural (and let’s also make mention of the original novel by Bernard Malamud), Hamilton was a talked-up young baseball prodigy whose career was sidetracked before making a triumphant, ball-punishing return to the bigs. After a car accident put him on the bench, Hamilton got hooked, then overcome a substance abuse problem, and was reinstated to baseball and is on track for a record year.’
I heard this morning on the radio the story of Josh Hamilton waking up on the day of the all-star game while the movie The Natural was playing on the TV. Soon after he heard a knock on the door, it was a MLB agent asking for a urine sample.
For the sake of the game of baseball I really hope this guy is clean.
Consider the whole steroid debacle the last few years plus the fact that he’s coming off a substance abuse suspension (I think I’ve read that he’s still urine tested 3x/week by MLB) I doubt he’s using anything.
You have to keep in mind that he is only on pace to hit about 40 home runs at the moment. Not exactly Bonds or McGwire numbers. What’s really impressive is that he might knock in 160+ runs.
[quote]The Bambino wrote:
Fucking David Ortiz trying to get some shine by walking across the field during Hamilton’s AB was classless, IMO.
I noticed this too. People will say that Ortiz was just being friendly and having a good time but nobody else interrupted the Hamilton show. Can’t STAND Ortiz for that reason. Thinks he’s bigger than the game.
[/quote]
??? hamilton was up there a LONG time and A LOT of guys went out and were taking photos and jerking around…funny how you only saw ortiz…oops guess you didn’t even see it huh ?
[quote]swivel wrote:
The Bambino wrote:
Fucking David Ortiz trying to get some shine by walking across the field during Hamilton’s AB was classless, IMO.
I noticed this too. People will say that Ortiz was just being friendly and having a good time but nobody else interrupted the Hamilton show. Can’t STAND Ortiz for that reason. Thinks he’s bigger than the game.
??? hamilton was up there a LONG time and A LOT of guys went out and were taking photos and jerking around…funny how you only saw ortiz…oops guess you didn’t even see it huh ?
[/quote]
No, I did see it. I was at work and it’s possible I missed the other interruptions. The only other guy I saw up there was Bradley during the SECOND round. I stand by my comments about Ortiz, however. He will do whatever it takes to be in the spotlight no matter what. Bradley is his fucking teammate, and they are friends from what I have read. The kids are kids and should be there. If YOU would have been watching Hamilton looked visably annoyed at having Ortiz be all buddy-buddy with him.
[quote]The Bambino wrote:
swivel wrote:
The Bambino wrote:
Fucking David Ortiz trying to get some shine by walking across the field during Hamilton’s AB was classless, IMO.
I noticed this too. People will say that Ortiz was just being friendly and having a good time but nobody else interrupted the Hamilton show. Can’t STAND Ortiz for that reason. Thinks he’s bigger than the game.
??? hamilton was up there a LONG time and A LOT of guys went out and were taking photos and jerking around…funny how you only saw ortiz…oops guess you didn’t even see it huh ?
No, I did see it. I was at work and it’s possible I missed the other interruptions. The only other guy I saw up there was Bradley during the SECOND round. I stand by my comments about Ortiz, however. He will do whatever it takes to be in the spotlight no matter what. Bradley is his fucking teammate, and they are friends from what I have read. The kids are kids and should be there. If YOU would have been watching Hamilton looked visably annoyed at having Ortiz be all buddy-buddy with him.
[/quote]
Either way it was still magic and no one can take away what he has done, what he did, and what is will do. Im not one for having a “favoite player” when it comes to team sports b/c every one can be replaced but Hamilton might my my fav. MLB player and was heart broken to find out that he was picked up by the Cubs on a Rule 5 and then traided
[quote]The Bambino wrote:
swivel wrote:
The Bambino wrote:
Fucking David Ortiz trying to get some shine by walking across the field during Hamilton’s AB was classless, IMO.
I noticed this too. People will say that Ortiz was just being friendly and having a good time but nobody else interrupted the Hamilton show. Can’t STAND Ortiz for that reason. Thinks he’s bigger than the game.
??? hamilton was up there a LONG time and A LOT of guys went out and were taking photos and jerking around…funny how you only saw ortiz…oops guess you didn’t even see it huh ?
No, I did see it. I was at work and it’s possible I missed the other interruptions. The only other guy I saw up there was Bradley during the SECOND round. I stand by my comments about Ortiz, however. He will do whatever it takes to be in the spotlight no matter what. Bradley is his fucking teammate, and they are friends from what I have read. The kids are kids and should be there. If YOU would have been watching Hamilton looked visably annoyed at having Ortiz be all buddy-buddy with him.
[/quote]
[quote]swivel wrote:
The Bambino wrote:
swivel wrote:
The Bambino wrote:
Fucking David Ortiz trying to get some shine by walking across the field during Hamilton’s AB was classless, IMO.
I noticed this too. People will say that Ortiz was just being friendly and having a good time but nobody else interrupted the Hamilton show. Can’t STAND Ortiz for that reason. Thinks he’s bigger than the game.
??? hamilton was up there a LONG time and A LOT of guys went out and were taking photos and jerking around…funny how you only saw ortiz…oops guess you didn’t even see it huh ?
No, I did see it. I was at work and it’s possible I missed the other interruptions. The only other guy I saw up there was Bradley during the SECOND round. I stand by my comments about Ortiz, however. He will do whatever it takes to be in the spotlight no matter what. Bradley is his fucking teammate, and they are friends from what I have read. The kids are kids and should be there. If YOU would have been watching Hamilton looked visably annoyed at having Ortiz be all buddy-buddy with him.
sorry …didn’t know you were his mom.[/quote]
Haha ok ok…I’m over it. Either way Josh Hamilton is a meast.
A bit of info on Josh, he his a truly humble man. He is a major league player, living in suburb, an average house, real modest.
He cuts his own grass, he does not hire anyone to cut it. Drives a big ole truck to work.
A man’s man.
