Cleaned Up Hitter

Off drugs for a year, a former top draft pick gets a second chance with Cincinnati

TEN YEARS ago Reds manager Jerry Narron was watching an amateur team coached by his brother when 15-year-old Josh Hamilton caught his eye. Three years later Hamilton would become the first high schooler taken first overall in the major league draft since Alex Rodriguez in 1993. Three years later Hamilton was out of baseball, suspended for repeated violations of MLB's substance-abuse policy (SI, April 12, 2004).

Hamilton has now been clean for more than a year, and Narron still likes the kid's game. Last week the Reds made a deal to acquire the 25-year-old from from the Devil Rays in the Rule V draft. "I felt all along if anyone could help the kid, it was me because of the relationship I've had with him," Narron told The Cincinnati Enquirer. The raw talent is certainly there. After getting a deal that included a $3.96 million signing bonus, the 6'4", 205-pound centerfielder hit .307 in his first two years in the pros, in rookie ball and Class A. But in 2001 he was in a serious car accident, and soon afterward his cocaine use began. Hamilton, who is tested three times a week, was finally reinstated last summer and played with Class A Hudson Valley. Says Reds G.M. Wayne Krivsky, "I think everyone in the game is rooting for him."