Texas beat Tampa Bay 5-1 in Game 5 of the ALDS to seal a spot in the American League Championship Series against the Yankees Tuesday night, and Hamilton was the last Rangers player off the field because of a television interview with TBS.
That gave his teammates more than enough of a window to break out the ginger ale in his absence, lie in wait and then douse him with it when he finally made his way into the clubhouse.
"That was cool," said Hamilton, who famously spent years out of professional baseball because of his struggles with drugs before returning to the game in 2006.
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"Josh needs to be part of this team and celebrate also. ... We were going to do it when we clinched (the division) in Oakland," said Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler. "We weren't able to find him. We got it done tonight."
As Kinsler alluded to, the setup for the surprise celebration wasn't merely minutes in the making. Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson, who adheres to a "straight edge" lifestyle that includes being drug- and alcohol free, had plotted a similar ginger ale shower with the help of equipment manager Richard "Hoggy" Price for when the team clinched the AL West title on the pentultimate Sunday of the regular season in Oakland.
Hamilton, who had expressed concern prior to that about getting any alcohol on his skin in a title-clinching bash, skipped the AL West-clinching celebration entirely and instead spoke at a church.
This time around, he was a focal point of the festivities.
Hamilton, Wilson and the rest of the Rangers will take aim at their next ginger ale shower starting Friday when they open the ALCS against the Yankees at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
FanHouse's Ed Price contributed to this report from St. Petersburg, Fla.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
louis vuitton
WOW!!!! Way to go Rangers!!! What a great display of "team" unity!
Best Team unity in the World. I m not see before this type of unity in any team.
Hope you go all the way Texas for being smart players... GOD bless you all.
Brenda
Very classy move!
Smart. They will be fresher for the ACLS with lack of recent hangovers. --Dr. DeMento
this is just flat out gay!!! "I was afraid of getting alcohol on my skin"????
Get a f'ing grip you loser. If you can't take being around other adult males that are having a beer, you ARE a hopeless alky (and I feel bad for you), but the rest of the world doesn't need to hold off on a victory beer because you're too weak to be around it. "On my skin"......how totally pathetic.
As a team mate, I would'nt have waived it under his nose, but I sure would've chugged a few down.
YOU flabrija are pathetic!!! There is nothing wrong with being coinsiderate of which you obvioiusly know NOTHING about!!
you are an idoit
The reporter told the story wrong, they did celebrate with champagne before he can into the locker room and after he was there. They just showered him with soda when he came off the field. But your still an idiot.If you wnat to get drunk do it somewhere else. You must be a oakland fan.
Flabrija, you're the loser if you can't celebrate without alcohol. If you'd read the story you'd know the team CHOSE to do the ginger ale thing, Josh didn't ask nor demand they do it. In fact, also in the story, he voluntarily removed himself from a potential problem situation earlier, rather than ask or demand his teammates do anything differently.
If you can't celebrate without alcohol, and if you can't express yourself without using words like "gay" and "f'ing", then you're the loser, my friend.
Josh Hamilton is a recovering alcoholic and drug user. Really awesome move by the Rangers.
ITS VERY SAD JOSH HAMILTON HAS TO CELEBRATE WITH GINGER ALE....CAN HE NOT LOOK AT BOOZE...WHAT A LOSER...YOU CAN POUR IT ON PEOPLE WITHOUT DRINKING IT YOU COKE HEAD ALCOHOLIC
aglew you are a d
If you need alcohol to celebrate, and if you feel the need to insult anyone who doesn't need alcohol, then you have quite the alcohol problem yourself, sir.
aglew, i think we all know who the real loser is...look in the mirror
Good for the Rangers - Way to take a stand and show the world you don't need alcohol to celebrate a great occasion!! If more high-profile celebrities will have the courage to do the same, MAYBE the rest of the world will catch on and the world will be free of the alcohol scourge.
VERY TRUE....HE'S A PATHETIC LOSER
uh, that would be you
A great move that should be adopted by every pro franchise for EVERY public celebration!!