Josh Hamilton

Born May 21, 1981, in Raleigh, North Carolina, 6 foot 4 Joshua Holt Hamilton also known as "Hammer" or "Ham Bone," more recently nicknamed "The Natural" or "Hobbs", is a baseball player for the Texas Rangers. Considered a five-tool player and future superstar, he was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the first overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft.

Hamilton graduated from Athens Drive High School (southwestern Raleigh, North Carolina) in 1999, where he played outfield and pitched for the high school team. As a pitcher, Hamilton's fastball was consistently clocked at 95 miles per hour; due to his arm strength in the outfield, Baseball Prospectus said that he would also have the ability to pitch in the major leagues.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Hamilton first overall in the 1999 MLB draft; he was the first #1 pick in franchise history and received a $4 million signing bonus after the draft. He signed with the Devil Rays in time to play for the rookie-level Princeton Devil Rays and the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades; he led the Renegades to their first and only New York-Penn League championship. In 2000, he was promoted to the Charleston RiverDogs of the full-season Class A South Atlantic League, and won a most valuable player award in the 2000 MLB All-Star Futures Game.

Cincinnati Reds (2006-2007)
2006
Hamilton was selected third overall in the MLB portion of the 2006 Rule 5 Draft by the Chicago Cubs, as the Devil Rays did not place him on their 40-man roster. The Cubs then traded Hamilton to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money. In their coverage of the draft, Chris Kline and John Manuel of Baseball America called Hamilton "the biggest name in the Rule 5 in years." In order to retain the rights to Hamilton, the Reds had to keep him on their major league 25-man roster for the entire 2007 season.

2007
Hamilton was one of the Reds' best hitters in spring training in 2007, finishing camp with a .403 batting average. As a result, he won a spot on the Reds' Opening Day roster; the Reds plan to use him as a fourth outfielder. He has also received starts due to injuries to Chris Denorfia and Norris Hopper. He started most of the time in center field after an injury to Ryan Freel. Hamilton finally made his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs to a 22-second standing ovation on April 2, 2007, as a pinch-hitter for pitcher Kirk Saarloos, and was later moved to left field. In his first at-bat, he lined out to left fielder Matt Murton, who made a sliding catch. He made his first major league start on April 10 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and batted leadoff; he also recorded his first regular-season hit in the majors, a home run off Édgar González, in the same game. The next night, April 11th, he hit another. Hamilton was named the National League Rookie of the Month for April.

On May 22, the Reds placed Hamilton on the 15-day disabled list with gastroenteritis; they activated him on June 5 after he batted .333 (8-for-24) with four home runs and six RBI in a six-game minor league rehabilitation assignment. Hamilton went back on the disabled list on July 12 with a sprained wrist.

Faith in God
In recent years, Hamilton has been outspoken about his faith in God and the role of his relationship with Christ in his recovery. He wrote an article for ESPN The Magazine sharing his own story, in which he repeatedly referred to Jesus Christ as his Savior.

In addition, Hamilton took part in "Faith Day" at Great American Ball Park on Sunday, August 12, 2007. This post-game celebration featured personal testimonies from Brad Johansen, Anthony Muñoz, Johnny Narron (Reds administrative and video coach, and confidante to Hamilton) and his wife Gail, and Hamilton and wife Katie. In addition, the popular contemporary Christian band MercyMe put on a concert.