Josh Hamilton Beyond Belief

After watching the 2008 Home Run Derby it seemed the world became fascinated with Josh Hamilton, myself included. He hit 28 home runs in the opening round, to break Bobby Abreu's Record of 24 set in 2005. When I heard an interview on the radio about his book Josh Hamilton Beyond Belief Finding the Strength to Come Back, I had to read it.

To start, Tim Keown did an fantastic job taking Josh Hamilton's story and putting it into words. The way it is written makes it easy to read for anyone, it's smooth and intriguing. The first good sign was the fact that I was compelled to stay up and read, when I was wiped out and really wanted to sleep. Beyond Belief is a well written book in a way that encourages you to keep following the story until you know how it ends up.

I think what really sets Hamilton apart as you learn in the book, is how great he was as a young kid. As a six-year-old, he was so good he was actually playing on his older brother's team with 11 and 12 year olds, and he kept up with them. He was born and bred to become a baseball player, working out and practicing his whole childhood. It wasn't that he was forced to either, this is what he loved to do and his parents encouraged it. It was in his blood to play baseball and it was evident.

The spotlight was steadily focused on Hamilton even before the Rays selected him number one overall in the 1999 Amateur Draft. By the age of 18 Josh Hamilton was a professional baseball player and a multi-millionaire. He began his career in the minor leagues. He was known not only for his gargantuan home runs, his speed on the bases and his fielding talent, but also for his caring and humble character.
So what went wrong with Josh Hamilton? How could a great kid with an such an abundance of talent fail? The story is almost unimaginable.

Without giving away too many details, a back injury following a car collision with his parents left Hamilton unable to perform at the level expected of him, causing him to be depressed. He began hanging out with the wrong crowd who worked in a tattoo parlor and one day he made the worst decision of his life. From that point on whether it was the booze, coke, or crack, Hamilton just couldn't get enough. He got himself suspended from baseball and alienated himself from his family. Four years of heavy drug use was killing him. He was slowly dying and probably should have been dead after reading the ghastly details of this book. Josh holds nothing back in his book. He spent half his signing bonus of nearly $4 million on drugs. He actually bartered his wife's wedding ring for crack when the money was gone. This is man who truly hit rock bottom!

So what saved his life? As Josh would say, "It's a God thing." Hamilton gave his life up to God and put it in His hands to do with it what He wished. James 4:7 became the Bible verse Josh would memorize and stand on, "Humble yourself before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

This story is so inspirational especially to anyone who is caught up in drug abuse or knows a loved one who is. If Josh Hamilton can overcome what he has endured in his life and trust me, it's jaw dropping, then anyone can. This book will be a motion picture one day because it's that extraordinary. You don't want to miss this astonishing testimony in Josh Hamilton Beyond Belief.