Do You Remember Josh Hamilton?
The former D-Rays number one pick overall? Supposed to have ungodly power and can't miss baseball skills? The one who spent years in and out of rehab for a ferocious cocaine addiction? Yeah, that Josh Hamilton. For a refresher on who he was and what has happened to him, check out this USAToday story on Hamilton from June of last year.
Fast forward to December, and the Reds plucking Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft, ensuring he will spend this spring in a big league camp, getting an apparently legitimate chance to try and make the Reds, despite never having played above A ball. How legitimate a chance? Pretty legitimate, judging from this note from Cincinnati Post Reds beat writer Trent Rosencrans' blog:
"Another interesting tidbit is that Narron said he and Josh Hamilton have been meeting halfway between their hometowns in North Carolina, in a town called Smithfield, to work out several times a week. 'It's been a lot of fun watching him,' Narron said. 'He's a tremendous athlete. He's got great bat speed. The one thing that's really hurt him is he hasn't played the last couple of years. It's going to be a huge adjustment for him and hopefully he makes our ballclub.' Narron said his plan is to play Hamilton nearly every day and get him about 80-100 at-bats in the spring, no matter how he does. He'll also play him in all three outfield positions. 'There are very few players in the major leagues with the kind of talent he has,' Narron said. 'But when you haven't played above (Class) A ball, it's a huge challenge for him.'"
In an off-season that has been marked by not a whole lot of anything from Wayne Krivsky in terms of improving the Reds, I guess seeing if Josh Hamilton has any skilz left after years of cocaine abuse will be the highlight of the spring. That, and, seeing if Homer Bailey is ready for the show.