Freak Show

I was bored out of my mind for most of the Homerun Derby, checking email, reading a few stories online - until it was Josh Hamilton's turn to hit. When Hamilton, all 6-4, 235 pounds of lean muscle, golden locks and drug-induced tattoos, stepped up to the plate, I stopped what I was doing and hoped for a show. What followed was the greatest display of power I have ever seen. At one point he hit 13 consecutive bombs, finishing the first round with a mind-boggling 28 homers. And it wasn't the record-setting number of homeruns Hamilton hit that really impressed me, it was the unimaginable distance each ball traveled that captivated my mind until I was screaming "Get the fuck outta here.....no fucking way," as baseball after baseball rocketed into the clear night air at Yankee Stadium.

I immediately called my brother Paulie after witnessing Hamilton's breathtaking homerun binge.

"Did you fucking see that!? Un-fucking-believable."

"I know," Paulie replied. "This is what they are going to play in his ESPN special when he overdoses on heroin. Put that in your fucking blog."

Indeed.

Keep this in mind - prior to Hamilton's freak show, only five balls have ever traveled over 500 feet in the 19-year history of the Homerun Derby. Hamilton hit three 500-foot bombs in a single round, including a blast of 518 feet that almost cleared Yankee Stadium. The way balls exploded and soared high and deep off Hamilton's bat, it looked as if he was hitting golf balls, not baseballs. Unreal.

Sure Justin Morneau was technically the Homerun Derby winner because Josh Hamilton and his 71-year old pitching machine tired by the third round, but that doesn't matter. I always thought Mark McGwire put on the greatest show of sheer power in the 1999 Homerun Derby at Fenway Park, but I no longer feel that way. Hamilton gave Yankee Stadium a fitting farewell that millions of fans will never forget. I know I won't.