"I mean, you could just tell when he stepped into the batter's box that he didn't belong in the New York-Penn League, even with all he'd been through," -- 2006 Hudson Valley Renegades Manager Matt Quataro.
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers All-Star and potential 2010 Americn League MVP, was originally the #1 pick of the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays in 1999. After the draft, Hamilton was promoted from Tampa's Appalachian League affiliate in Princeton, West Virginia, to its NYPL affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades. In just 16 regular season games, the 18 year-old hit .194. In the 1999 NYPL playoffs, however, Hamilton hit .429 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI to lead the Renegades to its only League Championship.
Over the 2000-2002 seasons Hamilton moved up and down the Tampa Bay minor leagues with stops in Charleston (A), Orlando (AA), and Bakersfield (Advanced A). Then, Josh's drug addiction took over and he was out of organized baseball. After conquering his addictions and serving his suspension from the game, he made his comeback in 2006 playing in Hudson Valley.
Hamilton was left off of the Rays 40 man roster after the 2006 season. He was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the 2007 Rule 5 Draft and then sent to Cincinnati. At the end of the 2007 season, the Reds traded Josh to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera. The rest is baseball history......
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