Sinners: The Church Won't Give Up On You!

By Rod Anderson, CP Cartoonist Thursday, March 19, 2015

In the last week of February, the baseball world was saddened by the news that superstar Josh Hamilton of the Los Angeles Angels had suffered a relapse of his drug and alcohol problems.

It was the latest chapter in a story that has a lot to tell us about what it means to be human and what it means to be the Church.

In 1999, the Tampa Bay Rays made Hamilton the first pick in the MLB draft and for good reason: His potential was enormous. He could hit for both a high average and with tremendous power, and as if that weren't enough, he could throw a 97-mile-an-hour fastball.

With this kind of ability, the only thing that could keep Josh Hamilton from baseball greatness was Josh Hamilton. And that's what happened. Hamilton failed six drug tests while in the minor leagues and was finally suspended from 2004 to 2006. His potential seemed to have been wasted.

But it wasn't. During that time, Hamilton had a conversion experience which enabled him to get off drugs. As he told ESPN "I'm proof that hope is never lost." In 2007, the Cincinnati Reds took a flyer on Hamilton, which paid off handsomely when he put up all-star caliber numbers over half a season.