Slugging outfielder Josh Hamilton, who helped the Texas Rangers reach their first World Series, capped a storybook season on Tuesday by winning the American League’s Most Valuable Player award.
Hamilton, 29, won the batting title with a .359 average and led the league in slugging percentage (.633). He belted 32 home runs and had 100 runs batted in despite missing most of the last month of the season due to injured ribs.
A talented defensive outfielder and swift baserunner, Hamilton’s greatest achievement went beyond the numbers and to his comeback from drug and alcohol addictions that forced him out of the game several years before he battled his way back.
“It’s awesome to think about where I am at this moment and where I was,” Hamilton told reporters on a conference call.
The Texas outfielder was listed first on 22 of the 28 ballots cast by two writers in each AL city in the voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera received five first-place votes and was runner-up in the voting. Cabrera led the league in RBI (126) and on base percentage (.420), was second in batting (.328) and hit 38 homers.
The other first-place vote went to Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista, who belted a major league-leading 54 homers and finished third ahead of New York’s Robinson Cano.
Hamilton helped the Rangers win the AL West and advance past the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees to send the team to the World Series for the first time in the 50-year existence of the franchise.
As a teenager, Hamilton was regarded as one of the best prospects in professional baseball but almost threw it all away when he got hooked on crack cocaine.
After some dark years, Hamilton cleaned himself up, dedicating himself to religion and rehabilitation.
“There was a 99 percent chance that this would never happen,” Hamilton said about the low points of his early 20s. “It was a 100 percent chance if I tried to do it on my own. I couldn’t do it on my own. With God, all things are possible.”
On the diamond, Hamilton said he believed his all-round production brought him the MVP.
“You want to help your team win any way possible every night, whether that’s with a hit, or throwing somebody out, or making a great catch or stealing a base or scoring a run, whatever that might be,” he said. “When I was playing this year I really felt like I did those things.”
Hamilton acknowledged some disappointment in losing the Fall Classic to the San Francisco Giants.
“We made a lot of history in Texas that had never been done before,” the North Carolina native said. “Obviously you’d like to win the thing if you’re there, but we got a lot to be proud of. At the same time, that’s also going to fuel our fire to get ready for next year.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care