NEW YORK — There were times when Josh Hamilton imagined playing alongside old Tampa Bay pals Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli in the World Series.
Like the devil’s head inked on the crook of his left elbow — one of his 26 tattoos — those thoughts faded.
“That would’ve been a heck of an outfield. Carl, Rocco and me, running balls down, throwing guys out, hitting home runs,” Hamilton said this week during a Manhattan visit. “It would’ve been awesome to play with them.”
“It just wasn’t in the cards,” he said.
Then again, the Texas Rangers star already won a title with his former organization. Back in 1999, a few months after the 18-year-old Hamilton was picked No. 1 in the draft, he helped the Single-A Hudson Valley Renegades win the New York-Penn League crown.
His championship ring from that season? Gone. He pawned it to buy cocaine.
It’s all part of Hamilton’s life story, chronicled in his new book “Beyond Belief.” In 256 pages, he presents his path from schoolboy star to crackhead to discovering God to Home Run Derby slugger.
He spares no detail — wearing a wire for the Drug Enforcement Administration, blacking out in a trailer park with shady characters, eight trips to treatment and rehab centers, spitting up crack soot.
Hamilton writes of wasting $100,000 on drugs in six weeks, his life in North Carolina reduced to finding that next fix. He also identifies who caused a near-death spiral that delayed his debut in the major leagues: It was totally, 100 percent his fault.
“People just respond to honesty better. I mean, you can straight up tell if somebody is lying,” Hamilton said.
His wife, Katie, said she learned things about him from reading it. She was the one, though, who told Hamilton during his addled existence: “God was going to allow me to get back to baseball, but it wasn’t going to be about baseball.”
“I tell people: Could I have reached people being the clean-cut kid coming out of high school? Probably so. How many more people can I reach having tattoos, having an addiction problem?” he said.
His story seems to be resonating.
On the day of Hamilton’s interview with The Associated Press, a man walked out of an office-building elevator, recognized the ballplayer, shook his hand, gave him a hug and wished him well.
The same day, Dallas Cowboys consultant Calvin Hill, who works with troubled players, carried a copy of Hamilton’s book outside the team’s locker room.
Totally out of baseball for three years while serving suspensions and getting clean, Hamilton reached the majors in 2007 with Cincinnati. Traded to Texas last December for pitcher Edinson Volquez, Hamilton fulfilled his promise this year at age 27.
Hamilton led the American League with 130 RBIs, and hit .304 with 32 home runs.
He played a full season for the first time, highlighted by his show during the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium when he connected on 13 straight swings.
