Earlier this afternoon, the Texas Rangers announced that they had released OF Josh Hamilton. Hamilton, would have missed the rest of this year, because he was recovering from an ACL injury. Many believe that there is a chance that this is not the end of Hamilton’s career in professional baseball. There is a chance that the Rangers sign him to a minor-league deal. If this happens, Hamilton would be able to start next season in the majors. But if this is the end of career, let’s take a look back on Hamilton’s time in the MLB.
Josh Hamilton was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the first overall pick of the 1999 MLB Draft. Hamilton then spent the next 7+ years bouncing around between minor league teams. On April 2, 2007, Josh Hamilton made his major league debut as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. In his first MLB season, Hamilton played 90 games, and finished with 19 home runs and a .292 batting average. After the 2007 season, Hamilton began 5 year stint with the Rangers. During his time in Texas, Hamilton was a 5-time All Star, he was named the 2010 AL MVP, and a 3-time AL Silver Slugger recipient. He also participated in the 2008 HR Derby in New York, where he made history by hitting 28 home runs in the first round, but Hamilton fell to Justin Morneau in the final round.
In December of 2012, Hamilton signed a 5 year, $125,000,000 contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He spent two years in Los Angeles, and didn’t live up to the contract he signed. Hamilton’s two seasons in LA were not his best, and he was not the player that the Angels thought. After the 2014 season, Hamilton was traded back to Texas, because the Angels thought that would be a better place for him. Since the trade, Hamilton has played 50 games, and has not been as good as he was in his first stint in Texas. Hopefully this isn’t the end of Hamilton’s career, but it very well may be. If so, Hamilton would finish his career as a .290 hitter with 200 home runs and 701 runs batted in.
