Josh Hamilton has been open about his demons. He's been a drug addict. He's been an alcoholic. He almost wasted away all of his incredible talent while adding a horde of tattoos and partying deep into the night.
But after finally getting sober, Hamilton was able to make an incredible comeback. He went from the forgotten former number one draft pick to one of the most popular players in the league.
All of this makes Thursday night's tragedy at Rangers Ballpark even more difficult to see happen. Shannon Stone, a 39-year old Rangers fan, called out for Hamilton to throw him a foul ball. Hamilton obliged but threw the ball short resulting in Stone leaning over to catch it and eventually falling to his death.
Stone, an 18-year firefighter veteran, was trying to catch the ball for his son sitting right next to him. Hamilton was said to be "very distraught" after watching Stone fall to his death and walked around in circles in disbelief to what happened.
Hamilton has done well at getting his life back on track. Most stories show he is a good father to his three daughters and he has excelled on the field, winning American League MVP honors in 2010.
But how does a man with past demons as strong as Hamilton's, react to such a traumatic event? Will Hamilton be able to sleep at night knowing he indirectly caused the premature death of a Texas firefighter?
Hamilton has claimed to have avoided alcohol and drugs since 2005, though he did have a very public relapse in 2009. Sports blog Deadspin obtained photos of a shirtless Hamilton at a Tempe, Arizona bar and Hamilton admitted he had relapsed in his sobriety.
Can he resist those major temptations when times get toughest? One would certainly hope so, as Hamilton seems to be a good guy, but traumatic events like these can have long lasting impacts on people. Simply seeing a person die in front of you could cause issues, but thinking that you might be the main reason has to be very tough to handle.
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