A Lousy Night to be an Atheist

In honor of baseball’s All-Star Break, we’re going to take a little break from our postings in the book of James. So here’s a story that has refreshed me a great deal:

I normally get sick of Christian athletes who talk about how Jesus helps them hit home runs. It generally borders on health and wealth teaching. However, Josh Hamilton’s story is far from typical. Josh was selected as the number one overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft. But Josh’s personal life was a mess, as he quickly became addicted to drugs and alcohol. From 2002-2006 he did not even play baseball, as he was even barred from baseball at one point for failing multiple drug tests. By all accounts his career was over. Even worse than that, he regularly overdosed with the hopes that he simply wouldn’t wake up.

But God didn’t give up on him, and neither did his wife or grandma. His wife, a devout Christian, often told him that he wasn’t done yet, and that he would play professional baseball again someday. Eventually, Hamilton surrendered his life to Christ. He is very specific about that word ‘surrender,’ as he acknowledges that of all his natural abilities that he has, there is no way he can overcome the addiction on his own. Since his surrender, God has done an amazing work in his life, as he has been clean since October 6, 2005. Through this time, God has also restored his relationship with his wife, Katie.

But we can’t forget the baseball! In 2007, the Cincinnati Reds picked up Hamilton and he had a successful rookie season. More importantly, his witness was incredible, as opposing players and even the umpires regularly encouraged him. His teammates even did not make him perform one of the rookie duties of making him carry the beer onto the team plane, as they were aware of his addictions and wanted to see him succeed. Over the off-season, the Reds traded Hamilton to the Texas Rangers, where he has simply been stellar. He was elected as a starter on the All-Star Team and was also selected to hit in the Home Run Derby on Tuesday night, which was simply amazing.

Back when he was still strung out on drugs, Hamilton had a dream that he would be hitting in the All Star Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium. He didn’t even know that there would be an All Star game at Yankee Stadium, as it had not even been selected yet. In the dream, he also gave glory to God for his performance. Well, Tuesday night that dream came true as Hamilton stepped up to the plate as the eighth hitter in the home run derby. The leader at the time had 8 home runs, and Hamilton absolutely shattered that lead by hammering 28 out of 38 swings as home runs. These were no cheap home runs either, as many of them were over 500 feet. Just as the players and umpires had been behind him before, the 56,000 fans in attendance were going crazy. While he didn’t eventually win the contest, everyone will remember his performance, as he obliterated the previous one round record. After the derby, he shared this account of his dream a few years back:

“I was at the plate, I saw all the guys sitting around and then I was at the plate walking toward them and actually a lady came up and interviewed me,” Josh said. “I was able to show everybody how I was there, why I was there and that was because of God's grace.”

Well, all of this happened and more. Here is the quote from the interview Hamilton had with the ‘real’ lady who interviewed him on Tuesday night: “It's amazing in the past few years what God has done in my life and how quickly he has done it. I just really want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all of this. I just want to glorify him.”

As powerful as Hamilton’s words were, the quote of the night came from famous sportswriter Rick Reilly, who simply said, “It’s a lousy night to be an atheist.” A lousy night indeed!

Hamilton has not let his success go to his head. His addiction definitely keeps him humble. He has three drug tests a week my MLB, which he welcomes because of his self-awareness as an addict. He also keeps a busy schedule of going and sharing his message with other addicts, as well as young people. And with a story of grace like that, why not? If he keeps playing like he is and sharing his story, there cold be a lot of lousy nights for atheists for a long time to come!

To read other articles about Josh Hamilton, click on one of the following links:

Sports Illustrated Cover Story from June 2008
ESPN.com - Hope is Never Lost