j. hamilton

as i'm sure most of you have heard, josh hamilton became a "breakout star" last night at yankee stadium by blasting 28 home runs in the first round of the home-run derby.

i think i am one of the few baseball fans left in the lexington area...especially one that DVRs baseball tonight, reads 3+ baseball blogs a day, and knows the names and histories of all baseball broadcasters and most reds since 1990.

hamilton's story is one for hollywood or hemingway. he overcame addiction and came out the hero of the bronx.

i can say, with authority, that i saw this coming. i saw it coming during the lazy days last season, when i got the hamilton jersey for my birthday. the day hamilton was traded for volquez was the second saddest day in my personal baseball history (the day casey was traded made me cry).

the one thing i can't stand, though, is all of the bandwagon people. one look through google blogs today points to tons of new posts about being a hamilton "fan". where were you when he was on the reds? where were you when he was on the DL twice last year? where were you when he was first traded to the rangers? oh, that's right, you were doubting his abilities and his story. or you were too busy jumping on (and then off) the rays bandwagon.

i wear my hamilton jersey regularly with pride...even on off days. (**note: i would wear my casey jersey if it still fit :/ ...thanks college**). i couldn't be happier about his sudden rise as a "breakout star" among the many hamilton "fans". however, to me, the true fans are those that were there through the entire process. i am very proud the reds were the ones that offered him the fresh start.

it's obvious i have some sort of issue about bandwagon people. does anyone else get irritated when they hear people extoling the virtues of people you have long known about?