Josh Hamilton came up just short in this year's quest to add a "World Series champion" chapter to his incredible drug addiction comeback story. The Texas Rangers center fielder received a pretty nice prize for his efforts on Tuesday, though.
Hamilton took 22 of 28 first-place votes to beat out Detroit's Miguel Cabrera and New York's Robinson Cano for the American League MVP award. Leading the majors in batting average (.359) and slugging percentage (.633) while battling a rib injury for a big portion helped make his case, as did 32 homers and 100 RBIs. From a "value" perspective, Hamilton led the way as the Rangers won their first AL West title since 1999 and won both their first playoff series and AL pennant once they were in the postseason.
So much has been written about Hamilton over the past three seasons that it's hard to come up with anything new to add. But the incredible thing is that Hamilton keeps writing new chapters by himself. If he's able to stay healthy and can continue winning his fight against addiction, there's no telling what the 29-year-old might tack onto his tale.
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