My favorite MLB Player
I have been a Texas Rangers fan since I was a little kid. I have a plastic batting helmet and little wooden bat from from childhood with the Rangers logo on it. As I am typing this I am wearing my Rangers shirt. Toby Harrah and Buddy Bell were my favorite players as a kid. I remember the greats like Odibie McDowell and Ferggie Jenkins with the Rangers. I watched Nolan Ryan pitch one night. I know you would think I would cheer for a winner, but I am from the metroplex so I grew up watching those teams. I used to sit in the outfield seats as a kid in the old Arlington Stadium. The Rangers are 7 games out of the wildcard this year and are doing well, though they have trading away three pretty good pitchers over the past several years, Chris Young (Padres), John Danks (White Socks) and All-Star Edison Volquez (Reds). The Rangers have not seen much return on the players they got from the first two, but Volquez brought my new favorite Ranger. He is not my favorite player because he is good, which he is! He is my favorite because of what he has come through. If you don't know the story of Josh Hamilton it is one you need to know. After being drafted No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays, he got hurt and during the down time he got addicted to achohol and drugs. He was kicked out of baseball. I have followed his story even before he came to the Rangers and liked him, but the more I read about him the more impressed with him I am. My new favorite Ranger is first time and starting All-Star Josh Hamilton. Here is a neat story about Josh from the Dallas Morning News.
Here are some great quotes:
Sunday, the first player interviewed by Ernie Johnson and the network's baseball analysts was Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. "I should be dead right now or in jail."
"When I get the urge to have a drink or do something I'm not supposed to do, I think about what a hypocrite I would be to my Christianity and my sobriety," he said. "My wife told me in the midst of my addiction that God was going to let me get back to baseball. "Being able to share my story, that's what it's all about."
Even if you don't like baseball, Josh Hamilton is someone you can cheer and prayer for.
2 comments:
Dude, my fav of all time was Jim Sunburg. I had a patch that was proof of my membership in the Junior Texas Rangers fanclub or something like that. I loved Jim Sunburg. Charlie Hough, now I hated him, it always seemed like he was dashing my hopes on the rocks.
Of course over the years I had other favs like Harold Baines, Julio Franco, Rueben Sierra, Juan Gonzales, Rusty Greer, Steve Buchelle, Pete Incaviglia, Rafael Palmerio, and Pudge.
My favorites back in the old Arlington Stadium days were Toby Harrah and Buddy Bell. Let's not also forget Odbie McDowell.
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