When Josh Hamilton asked Clay Counsil, his former batting practice pitcher during his American Legion days, to pitch for him at the MLB Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium, Counsil probably didn't think he needed to be placed on a pitch count. But after throwing 54 pitches in the first round, 28 of which left the yard, Counsil might have been begging for some relief help.
The show that the tattooed Hamilton put on for America rivaled that of any 4th of July fireworks and brought out thoughts of the Star Spangled Banner (the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that Josh Hamilton was still there...).
As I stood (how could you sit for such a thrilling performance?) in my kitchen watching Hamilton's prodigious outburst, I couldn't help but smile. Hamilton is THE individual story of major league baseball 2008. And it might sound silly, but after Hamilton made his last out, I applauded, as if I was one of the 50,000 plus at Yankee Stadium. No matter what Hamilton does the remainder of his career, this memory of Hamilton putting on a show, balls rising pregnant through the warm July Bronx air, will be indelibly burned into the memory banks of millions of fans.
And while Hamilton ultimately didn't win the derby (congratulations to Justin Morneau), it will be Hamilton, not Morneau, who will be the talk around the water cooler tomorrow.
DeLeah Caro
Damaris Lewis
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That was a great show put on by Hamilton. You had to pull for him.
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