I make no secret of my allegiance to God, my family and the Texas Rangers.
So yes, when Rangers superstar slugger Josh Hamilton was "called way out west over the winter by God and $125 million," as Fort Worth Star-Telegram sports columnist Randy Galloway described it, I felt jilted. And yes, when Hamilton — now an Anaheim Angel — struck out twice in his return to Rangers Ballpark on Friday, I rejoiced at his expense (and may have scared the neighbors).
As those who have followed Hamilton (here at GetReligion and elsewhere) know, the former No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft hit rock bottom before a return to the sport’s Promised Land. He credits his recovery to his Christian faith. So not surprisingly, he spoke in religious terms after going 0-for-4 in the Angels' 3-2 loss to my Rangers yesterday. As one of my Facebook friends described it:
I learned something new from Josh Hamilton — apparently Jesus was booed the most in Nazareth because it wasn't a baseball town.
Another person on Facebook pointed out that the Bible actually starts with a baseball reference. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the big inning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Humor aside, I have an actual GetReligion-related reason for this post. In reading various stories about the boos Hamilton received in Texas, I came across a USA Today story that included this interesting nugget:
Hamilton, who signed a five-year, $125 million free-agent contract with the rival Angels, says he used the power of prayer to get him through the day. He even brought up the story of Jesus being rebuked in Jerusalem, saying it was the same for him being abused in his hometown.
Really.
"Somebody came and shared that with me,'' Hamilton said. "Where did people get on Jesus the most? In his hometown. It's one of those things, where baseball-wise, this is my hometown. They got after it.''
Um, is it me or does USA Today think Jesus' hometown was Jerusalem? (It wouldn't be the first time, of course, that a major news organization got such a simple fact wrong.)
Luke 4:16-30 (not to mention Mark 6:1-6 and Matthew 13:53-58) tells of Jesus going to his hometown of Nazareth and making his statement about a prophet having no honor in his hometown.
The Scriptures say that Jesus did not do many miracles there because of the people's lack of faith.
Perhaps that explains Hamilton's abysmal performance in recent outings in Texas.