Since the day Josh Hamilton reached the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds, I have been a huge fan. I always felt I was very familiar with his “story”, from being the number one draft-pick in 1999 for the Tampa Bay Devil Ray, overcoming an addiction to drugs and alcohol, finally making it to the Big Leagues in 2007 for the Reds, and ending up becoming an All-Star for the Texas Rangers one year later. What I wasn’t familiar with was his true love and reliance on Jesus Christ and his heart’s desire to share his testimony with anyone and everyone he comes into contact with.
In his autobiography Beyond Belief, Josh Hamilton tells his readers the whole story. Amazingly enough he didn’t hold anything back and just laid everything out. What I appreciated most was during the whole story he never once blamed another person. In fact, as he discussed visits with psychiatrists and AA groups, he mentioned they always wanted to blame “his parents” or “his upbringing”, but Hamilton kept insisting he was the only one responsible, it was all his own doing. That is refreshing, especially when so many public figures tend to not want to be held accountable for their actions.
Most importantly, Hamilton not only mentioned he relied on Scripture and a relationship with Christ to overcome his “demons”, but provided references to specific passages that makes this book a great study for anyone facing similar problems. While reading the book, I immediately thought of many people who could benefit from reading this book, not because they were facing addiction, but because the book relayed such a strong message to aspiring athletes and believers facing tough issues.
The book was a fast read (I read it on a plane ride back from Tennessee) and did a great job allowing me to relive some of my favorite moments in baseball, including the 2008 home Run Derby in which Josh Hamilton was larger than life. The writing style, I have to admit, was fairly choppy and remedial, but that just added to its sincerity.
As a baseball fan, the number thirty-two has always held a special place in my heart, as it is the number of my all-time favorite Dodger – Sandy Koufax. But, now thirty-two has even more meaning to me as it is the number of an example of how a reliance on God and a focus on Scripture could overcome any challenge. Josh Hamilton, number thirty-two, is an inspiration.
