Josh Hamilton Riles God...No, Not THAT God....

[DOUGHBOYS]

(I promise, only the first paragraph is related to the '27 Yankees)

Do you know which field Babe Ruth played?
It seems like an easy question, but it's not.
Back in the day, they had different feelings about health than we do now. A players most important and protected attribute were his eyes. Ruth did not go to movies or read books during baseball season.
Not that he would have read much anyway, but these two measures were taken to protect his eyes.
And similarly, the field that Ruth played was eye dependent.
He played right field when the sun shined in left field and left field when the sun shone in right field.
Don't laugh.
He only played in day games, so the sun was a constant. And the unfortunate fellow, Bob Meusel, on the other side of this platoon missed more than a few games caused by migraine headaches attributed to the sun.

I bring this up because of the health and reckonings of a player today. As much as we may find it amusing that a player would not read or go to movies, a player today has 'problems' that may outweigh Ruth's rituals on the laugh meter.
I give you Josh Hamilton.
Now, I know it's not nice or politically correct to talk about a rehabbing fellow, but tough.
It's apparent that Hamilton has an addictive personality when it comes to what he puts in his body.
Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, bring 'em on.
This isn't a slam of Hamilton, it's just the way he is built.

Hamilton tries to substitute the drugs and alcohol, now, with tobacco and caffeine. The energy drink binge left him with blurred vision and balance problems.
Not good for a baseball player.
This was a little funny, but only because of the peculiarity of it all.
Now, let's introduce another addiction to the Hamilton think tank.
Religion.

He is playing ollie ollie oxen free and religion is Hamilton's safe base. He talks to others about finding religion almost as compulsively as chugging an energy drink.
As far as addictions go, it's not a bad thing.
But, it is funny when his real life collides with religion.

Hamilton picked June as a time to quit chewing tobacco. At the time, he was the best player in baseball.
Four home runs in a game.
Leading all of baseball in home runs.
If there was talk of a Triple Crown winner, it was centered on Josh Hamilton.
Then, one of his vices kicks in.
Religion.
It makes him feel bad about another vice, tobacco.
Guilt wins,, and Hamilton is trying to kick the chewing habit.
This, in turn, pisses off a relative of the very person Hamilton prays to, The Baseball God.

You don't piss off the Baseball God.
The Baseball God giveth and taketh away.
He doesn't care about the food, the drinks, or even the drugs.
The one thing the Baseball God despises more than anything else when granting a player the ability to dominate baseball?
Change.
Some players adhere to the cardinal rule of the Baseball God.
Not changing habits, good or bad, eating chicken every day if needed, even not changing t-shirts or washing them.
The Baseball God, unlike Hamilton's God, is unforgiving.
Hamilton's season was never the same.
Hamilton said, " I was being obedient to the Lord in quitting tobacco."
Funny in a way. It is amusing to think that the Lord is up there wondering whether Hamilton is chewing. Maybe even happy in that tobacco was better than past alternatives.
And meanwhile, the Baseball God was kicking water coolers and wishing 1,000 Justin Verlander's to be reigned down on Hamilton.

Ruth playing the opposite field of the sun is nothing compared to Hamilton's problems.
Ruth had a routine, a schedule.
He was Baseball God friendly.
Hamilton has chaos.
An addictive personality cloaked in the guilt of another addiction, that is religion.
Unfortunately, Hamilton is at the wrong alter.
His God, ultimately, will forgive him.
The Baseball God will not.