Josh Hamilton is a winner

Wow, wasn’t the All-Star Homerun Derby great? Participating was a young player named Josh Hamilton. Several years ago he was in the minor leagues when a cocaine addiction forced him to drop out. During that time, he found God, got clean and, after a three-year absence, worked his way back up to the majors, a remarkable feat.

The announcer told how Josh had dreamt he would be in the All-Star Homerun Derby in New York, commenting that what was incredible about Josh’s dream was that the New York location had not yet been announced to the public.

As the commentators told his story, Josh hit homerun after homerun. The other players stopped what they were doing to watch. The crowd started chanting his name.

At the end of the warm-up time, he had hammered out 32 homeruns and broken two records. However, those homeruns didn’t count for anything; they were practice for the main event which began after warm-ups, with only the top two hitters of the day. Josh didn’t win that contest.

When interviewed after his loss, he thanked his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the “opportunity to participate.” You know what? I think he won!

Mary Ann Craven