A Letter to Josh Hamilton

Dear Josh Hamilton,

I will never be able to deny the great things you did for the Texas Rangers, especially during the two consecutive World Series trips.  Even in 2012, you were a beast, hitting 43 home runs despite a two month stretch where you hit at or below .200 and had only a handful of homers.

But I was glad to see you go.  I honestly was.  You quit on the Rangers and all of the fans.  Whether it was the eye problem that cost you most of an important road stretch in Oakland and Anaheim, or the "dropped" fly ball in Oakland during the season's last week, something about the way you handled yourself made me wish you were sitting on the bench.  I know, it sounds crazy for me to say that, but when your team is trying to hold on to a division lead, you need your best player to be your leader, not be a liability.  While you were out there in the outfield loafing, a guy like Craig Gentry or David Murphy was always sitting on the bench waiting his turn.  I guarantee you that if either of those two had been in center field in Oakland that day, the Rangers would have won the American League West and the Rangers may have been on their way to a third consecutive American League Championship.

But now you have decided to go after the Texas baseball fans.  The same group of fans mind you, that accepted you with open arms when you arrived in a trade from the Cincinnati Reds.  Before games, fans would line up sometimes ten deep to get an autograph or have a chance to shake the hand of the Great Hambino.  Fans waited in lines after select games to hear you give your testimony about your life and your faith, wanting to find out more and learn more about their new hero.

And all of a sudden, because you got your feelings hurt when we booed you for your lack of effort, you have decided that Dallas is not a baseball town.  I agree with you one hundred percent.  Love them or hate them, Dallas has always been and will always be a Dallas Cowboys town.  Texas is a football state.  But that doesn't mean that the baseball fans in Texas, or more specifically in Dallas, aren't true baseball fans.  The Rangers drew over 3 million fans last year, finishing third in attendance behind the Phillies and Yankees.

As a matter of fact, I would argue that you were booed as loudly as you were because fans in Dallas are true baseball fans.  They saw your effort.  They saw you only see eight pitches in four at-bats in the Wild Card game against Baltimore.  They saw you flail at pitches way outside of the strike zone and leave runners stranded on the base paths.

I can't speak for every baseball fan in Texas, but I personally grew tired of the drama and the antics.  You always needed someone to pat you on the back or hold your hand tell you how great you are.

I have maintained since September that the collapse of the Rangers falls solely on your back.  Ron Washington remained loyal to you until the bitter end, despite your effort on the field.  I believe, and I may be the only one, that the rest of the players on the team were disgusted by Washington keeping you on the field during that stretch.  Gentry and Murphy are not All-Stars, don't misunderstand what I'm saying.  But I think the rest of the team knew the effort would be much greater if those two guys were on the field.

While many of the players have said the right thing since you signed with the Angels, I think you will see a team much more relaxed once the season starts.  No more drama.  No more whining.  No more loafing in center field by a guy who is a legend, even though only in his mind.

You can talk a big game out in Arizona at Spring Training.  You can sit and attack fans of the Rangers and talk about how they got spoiled because of the two years of success.  You can say that you chose not to come back to Texas because us fans would keep you from being happy.  Say what you want Mr. Hamilton, you will have to come back to Texas during the first week of the season.  And you will hear your name.  Fans will definitely pay attention to you.  Fans will watch every move you make.  That is what you want, all of the attention and all of the fans calling your name.

But this time, we won't make excuses for you.  We will still be telling the kids in the bleachers about you.  We used to tell them that the guy out there in center plays the game the right way.  He works hard and he is a team player.  But after seeing the real you over the last year or so, I for one will be telling any young fans around me that the guy wearing #32 for the Angels is a blow hard.  He only cares about himself and is just like many other athletes who are in the game for themselves and for the money.

Thanks for what you did for the Rangers.  But most importantly, thanks for leaving.

Sincerely,

Jereme Hubbard


P.S. - Tell that loser C.J. Wilson we haven't forgotten about him.  We'll be waiting for the both of you.