Let's imagine for a second. Imagine a story about a fictional man named John. John went to school at an acclaimed university and graduated with a degree in business management. He was an honor roll student, both admired by his peers and praised by his teachers. He came from a great home with wonderful family support. After college, John accepted a job with one of the best business firms in Chicago. He had it all...
John became lonely in Chicago. In an effort to seek companionship, he started to hang around with the wrong crowd. That crowd got John involved in drugs. Eventually, he got so involved in drugs that it cost him his job... and nearly his life. However, with great family support and a strong desire, John slowly pulled away from his addiction. He had spent close to 2 years of his life battling the addiction, but he's now been clean for nearly 3 years. John currently works at the food court in Walmart. He has tried, unsuccessfully, to get back into the business world, but no one wants to hire a former drug addict that could potentially ruin the companies image. He continues to toil though, praying for a second chance in his chosen profession...
Ask anybody who covers baseball what the story of the year so far is and they'll immediately proclaim Josh Hamilton. By now, Hamilton's story is well documented. Drafted number one in all of MLB straight out of high school, supremely talented, a can't miss prospect. The catch was that Hamilton's career hasn't turned out like we all planned. He spent years of his life battling drug addiction... to the point where it almost cost him his life and nearly his career. Sound familiar? This year, after not playing for two years and never higher than Single A ball, Josh Hamilton has arrived. From day 1 in training camp to the end of the first month of the season, Josh Hamilton has displayed all the skills we knew he always had. He's crushing major league pitching to the point where the Cincinnati Reds can't keep him out of the lineup. He's a star outfielder with a golden arm. The fans embrace his honesty and appreicate that he freely admits and discusses his mistakes. His second chance, to this point, has become a dream come true.... John works in the food court at Walmart.
Please don't look at this as a knock on Josh Hamilton ...because it's not. I'm a huge Josh Hamilton fan. I root for his continued success not only because I'm a Cincinnati Reds fan, but because it's a story about a man overcoming his demons and straightening out his life. He was given a second (maybe third or fourth) chance and he's made good. Isn't it a shame that our boy John isn't afforded, or never will be afforded the same opportunity. The reason ...he's not an athlete. See, in today's sports world it's okay for a talented athlete to be given a second chance. Professional sports teams can withstand public relations nightmares. Today's businesses can not. One major mistake by taking a chance on the wrong guy and there goes your credibility and your future. In terms of sports teams, look no further than right across town at the Cincinnati Bengals. Nine players arrested in 1 year. A lifetime of embarrasment for the organization ...that plays in front of a sold out crowd with record merchandise sales.
Doesn't seem fair does it? What does this tell you? I'll tell you what it tells me. That is, if you screw up, you better be able to run a 4.4 40 or hit a baseball 450 ft. If you can't do that, make sure you can nail a 23 foot jump shot or one time a drive into the back of the net. It isn't fair and it never will be. Josh Hamilton is a great story. He's a guy we can all root for, a guy we all want to succeed. John works in the food court at Walmart. He runs a 5.3 40 and has absolutely no jump shot.
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3 comments:
Good job.
The funny thing about Hamilton was that he didn't have any problems until his parents left him all to his own on the road. The way he was portrayed in an ESPN article was a kid at the age of 18 or 19 that had always had his parents around. After an accident/family tragedy or something like that his parents were no longer able to travel with him. I believe that the article went into the extreme of saying that Josh didn't even have his own credit card and bank accounts. It was this loss of physical presance by his parents that allowed the first problems to occur.
This seems like a similar problem most kids go through when going to away to college their freshman and sophmore years. In Josh's case, he made some pretty bad decisions with the drugs and such...
Crazy B... very nice piece. Crazy P Daugherty at the Cincy Enquirer better watch his job.
Atta baby Kalbers...I need to re-frie my blog up.
Let us remember that back in spring it was considered a big gamble by the Reds to take Hamilton. I believe if it wasn't for Jerry Naroon the Reds never would have signed him.
One thing I do believe is that if John could increase his business firm's profits by several million dollars, they would have found a way to help him or keep him around.
A while back I read a great quote by Sylvester Croom. He said his father had a catch-phrase: "Always have the best ice cream." He grew up in the South during segregation and his father ran an ice cream parlor - that always had a line of white people going out the door. The reason: he had the best ice cream in town. It was EXTREMELY rare for a white person to give patronage to a black man's business, but his skill and the value of his product trumped racial lines.
I think the point is, Josh Hamilton is being rewarded for very hard work and staying positive after he hit rock bottom. Yea sure, he has god-given ability but you can't tell me that someone who performs at that level doesn't work his tail-end off.
"I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it."
-Gale Sayers
DB
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