Old Fashioned Tent Revival Visits Surprise
SURPRISE, Ariz. (CBSDFW.COM) -YuMania has given way to the Josh Hamilton mea culpa where on Friday morning he quoted everything from 2nd Corinthians 2:7 to Bobby Boucher's mother, played by Kathy Bates, in the movie "The Waterboy".
The 2010 AL MVP is raw and candid in these settings. He's never coached and always speaks from the heart. This was the epitome of that once again.
Hamilton's visit with the media seemed much more like an old-fashioned tent revival. He brought his bible to the briefing which was held, ironically enough, in a tent. He opened it by quoting scripture. He went on to admit that he's been through a lot in the last three weeks since his relapse in sobriety at Sherlock's in Dallas. He said he's focused on communicating better with his wife, Katie, and their children and has been undergoing heavy counseling.
"For me it's communication. I'm on all the time. When you get home it's very easy to shut down," he said. "It's about me being able to open up all the time and realizing my commitment needs to be them first rather than everybody else."
Hamilton worked the room like a preacher at a revival. He called on reporters to ask questions and even chided yours truly for giggling when a fellow reporter was giving me a running play by play of Hamilton's scripture. "Share with the rest of the class," he joked. It was a press conference like no other. He would shout "BAM! I'm glad you asked me that question!" and begin quoting more scripture.
Hamilton will be a free agent after this season. What was even more interesting was when he was asked about the Rangers prospects of signing him to a long term deal. He responded with this: "I've got a question for ya'll: Have I done a lot for the Rangers?" He followed it up with a pause before adding "I think I've given them everything I've had. I don't think anybody can say I haven't."
