One of my favorite places in the world (besides a seat at the Ranger game) is sitting by the pool at my dad's house. Something about the water, the sun, and the Texas country music that is always playing usually has the makings for a perfect day.
In the latest chapter of pool hangouts, dad and I were talking about the Masters. Watching golf has never been one of my interests, but golf to my dad is like baseball to me. He absolutely loves it.
Even though I don't watch it much, my favorite golfers have always been Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. If I had to guess, I'd probably have to say those two are near the top of my dad's list as well.
As we sat out by the pool, he started talking about Tiger, a golfer who has a crazy amount of controversy that will probably surround him until the end of his career. Most of the talk was about his game, but my dad said something that would stick out to me a few hours later.
"I don't care about his personal life. Everyone has their weird things in their life, the fact is that the sport needs Tiger to win again."
Fast forward a few hours. I was heading back to Stillwater, listening to the Rangers double-header with Baltimore when it hit me.
Is Josh Hamilton in the same boat as Tiger Woods?
Both have a pretty recent controversial past; Hamilton's being more documented than Tiger's, but both have it nonetheless.
But as I listened to the play by play of Colby Lewis throwing batting practice to the Orioles lineup, I quickly came up with a solution that calmed me down a little bit.
The difference between Hamilton and Woods is that Hamilton isn't ashamed.
But obviously, anyone would love to erase drug and alcohol abuse from their past, and I'm sure Hamilton is the same way. But the difference is that Hamilton has always been open about his faults, while Woods has never wanted to talk about it.
Hamilton's character and strength with the subject is something that even a rival has to respect. He's never once tried to hide any of his past, and has instead worked with multiple people on getting out of the same hole he was stuck in.
Maybe that's why I have always been happy about "The Great Hambino" being a usual sight in the Ranger outfield. Maybe that's why Hamilton gets mostly positive a positive reception from fans on the road (as seen here ).
And to reinforce my opinion, I can honestly say that Hamilton has been one of my favorite players long before he ever hit the record 28 home runs in the 2008 Home Run Derby. Ever since he came to Texas, I've been a fan.
Who knows what the real reason for that is, maybe I'm a no good bandwagoner of good players, scooping them up as often as alcohol abuse is shown on ESPN. Maybe I'm just glad he's doing well, and as soon as he falls off I'll despise him like Boston fans and Manny Ramirez.
I doubt it. I believe that even if, heaven forbid, Hamilton ever takes up residence in the Yankee dugout, I'll still be a fan.
All in all, I see it this way: Tiger Woods can enjoy his "First-Class Plane" attitude and his trophy case. I'll take the "Regular Guy" attitude of Josh Hamilton any day.
And Mr. Hamilton, if you're somehow reading this, you're always welcome next to the pool with me and Dad. I just hope you like Texas country music.
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