Rangers OF Josh Hamilton won the 2010 American League MVP award today. Are you any at all shocked? The guy put up outstanding numbers, he led the majors with a whopping .359 BA and .633 Slugging Percentage! Despite missing the last month of the season with 2 cracked ribs as a result of a run-in with an outfield wall, Hamilton still clobbered 32 long balls and drove in an even 100 runs. He was also second in the AL in On-Base Percentage(.411), 4th in Total Bases, accumulated 75 extra base hits, and did I mention he led his team to a near World Series victory? The only thing that went wrong with his season(besides going ice cold in the World Series) happened to be that he couldn't continue his onslaught of opposing pitchers through the last month of the season!
Hamilton's journey to superstardom was as rocky as the Mets' season. He had it handed to him at first, being drafted by the "Devil Rays"(now Rays) in 1999 as the number one overall pick. His fortune ended there, as he began to tangle himself up with drugs such as cocaine and meth, and began showing signs of wanting to commit suicide. But with the help of his grandmother, whom had been his best friend throguhout his life, he had been able to gain the will to return to baseball(or at least make his debut); and he did... in 2007.
He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in an attempt to revive his playing career and bring him under the wing of future hall of famer Ken Griffey Jr., whom he'd be splitting time with. He eventually went on to have a productive season and was traded to Texas for phenom pitcher Edinson Volquez. Hamilton's first BIG opportunity was given to him, and he produced. In 2008, he hit for 32 homer, 130 RBIs, and hit for a .304 average. In 2009, he had his worst season, hitting .268, and only played in 89 games.
Hamilton exceeded expectations by far this year, and we'll continue to see next year if he can defend his crown successfully.
Tigers 1B Miguel Cabrera, Yankees 2B Robinson Cano, and Blue Jays OF Jose Bautista finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively.
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