Josh Hamilton Listens To Black Sabbath At 78 Speed

The Con

The 2011 MLB Playoffs have been nothing short of brilliant.  In every round there have been frequent lead changes, managerial genius, managerial blunders, great pitching, poor pitching and occasional defense that has made for must see sporting TV.

Last night’s World Series Game 6 between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers was no exception.  The game went 11 innings with the Cardinals finally winning on a walk off home run from third baseman David Freese.  The win allowed St. Louis to stave off elimination and force a deciding winner take all Game 7.  Freese’s homerun wasn’t the only dinger to warrant major discussion in the sporting press and blogosphere.

The Rangers Josh Hamilton, the number three hitter in their powerful lineup, has hit a paltry .101 in this World Series.  His power numbers are absent and he has taken the collar (going 0-3/4/5) twice.  So when Hamilton came up to the plate with a man on and the score tied in the top of the 10^th, there were no expectations from the slugger.  He was cold, swinging at the air, the pressure had obviously gotten to him.  According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Hamilton knew his series long slump was about to break:

Josh Hamilton knew people would be skeptical of it, but talked about a conversation he had before his 10^th inning at-bat. It wasn’t with manager Ron Washington or hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, either.

Instead, Hamilton said the Lord told him he’d hit a home run. And, as it turned out, it happened.

Hamilton belted a two-run home run in the 10^th inning to give the Rangers a 9-7 lead, his first homer in the postseason and first since Sept. 23.

“He said, ‘You haven’t hit one in a while and this is the time you’re going to,’” said Hamilton, who was “at peace” during his entire at-bat. “He didn’t say, ‘You’re going to hit it and you’re going to win.’”

The Rangers didn’t win Game 6, as the Cardinals rallied from two-run deficits twice and went on to a 10-9 victory in the 11^th inning.

Now, Hamilton and the Rangers need to regroup for a winner-take-all Game 7. Asked if God had sent him a message about Game 7, Hamilton smiled and said: “I’ll ask him tonight…”

Hamilton’s past struggles with booze and drugs have been well chronicled but with this statement from the Rangers Center Fielder one is forced to ask this question: with all the troubles in the world the famine, re-rise of anti-Semitism, genocide and hunger homeless people, do you think the Almighty was really watching this game of chance and failure in St. Louis?

Quick note to the powers that be in Major League Baseball: set the next Hamilton to look for LSD.  He’s obviously getting some good shit and is then listening to Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath or Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music at 78 speed.