Josh Hamilton's story could be fiction. His rise to glory and sudden and drastic fall to the lowest possible point a man can reach is something that I'm sure he wishes was fiction. And his rise back to greatness, winning the AL MVP, reaching the All-Star game, and leading his team to a World Series seems like a fairytale only Hollywood could make. And in all likelihood, Hamilton's life will be made into a major motion picture.
Josh Hamilton was the first overall draft pick for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in their first ever draft. It seemed destined for Hamilton to launch the Devil Rays into existence within a few years, his ability making headlines even before being drafted out of high school. However, an injury in spring training caused Hamilton to have a lot of free time with his painkillers. He soon started becoming a regular at tattoo shops, getting 26 tattoos in all. He made friends who made bad choices. Coming from a good Christian family, Hamilton was thrown into a world of drugs, alcohol, and reckless living. The four million dollar signing bonus quickly evaporated as became addicted to coke and Crown Royal. At one point his father-in-law was forced to meet a dangerous dealer to give him $2,000 after a check bounced. Another low was being thrown in jail. But after waking up from a crack binge in a trailer with several other strangers and realizing he had nowhere left to go, he showed up at his grandmother's front door.
With the help of his grandmother, his friends and family, and the Lord, he was able to regain the 50 pounds he lost, and slowly get his baseball career back again. Taking drug tests three times a week, and never going out with teammates after a victory he was determined. His hard work paid off, and last year, he celebrated a ALCS victory with a showering of ginger ale from his Texas Ranger teammates. He is now a huge role model, not only for baseball fans, but for recovering addicts and Christians everywhere. I believe all of this would make for a great inspirational movie.
I really like the idea you chose for your movie! I agree that I think someday we will see Josh's story turned into a motion picture. Being a Tampa Bay fan I am familiar with this story but was unaware of some the details you went into. I did not know that his own father-in-law was sent to a drug dealer to pay off a debt for him. That in itself shows how even though he was headed down the wrong path he still had the support of his family and they were looking out for him. Stories like these are not common in sports and I agree with you in that his story is an inspiration to anyone. Although I wish this all had never happened and he was able to stay a "Ray" I am happy for him in that he was able to drastically turn his life around and make something of himself because I'm sure many people who have fallen into his pattern before were unable to do that.
ReplyDeleteI like the plot of the story, but i think the plot is a bit cliched and predictable. What the plot might need is something different that will catch the audience by surprise, something that unique that will make them remember the movie.
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