Fansided

Josh Hamilton set to play first game back in Texas

By CM Towle

Apr 27, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; The Texas Rangers introduce newly signed outfielder Josh Hamilton before the game between the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 27, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; The Texas Rangers introduce newly signed outfielder Josh Hamilton before the game between the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is returning to Arlington on Thursday to play his first game back with the team since they were eliminated from the playoffs in 2012.

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The last time Josh Hamilton played in Arlington wearing a Texas Rangers uniform, he was booed as the team made an early exit from the playoffs. The Rangers haven’t been back to the playoffs since, but Hamilton is reunited with the team as he gets ready to make his home debut on Thursday against the Boston Red Sox.

Even though Hamilton was signed pretty cheaply for the Rangers (the Los Angeles Angels are picking up the majority of his salary), it’ll be interesting to see what the fans think about him now.

Hamilton finished the Rangers’ 2012 MLB season badly as the team collapsed in the final games of the season to give the American League West title to the Oakland A’s. In the AL wild card game, Hamilton went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Hamilton’s fate truly turned in the final game of that regular season with the division on the line. Hamilton non-nonchalantly misplayed a fly ball, putting Texas in a hole from which it would never recover. Following the playoff defeat, Hamilton left for the Angels on a five-year, $125 million deal and said that Dallas  wasn’t a baseball town. Unsurprisingly, none of this went over well with the Rangers faithful.

Now, however, he is back with the team after self-reporting a drug and alcohol relapse from last offseason. The Angels showed an ugly side and did everything they could to get rid of him, something most agreed was a poor look.

"“I’m looking forward to being back in the area and in the ballpark and playing in front of Rangers fans again,” he said. “I don’t think any nerves will be there, but you never know,” Hamilton said via ESPN."

Hamilton hasn’t gotten off to the greatest start at the plate. He went 1-for-11 in the Cleveland series, finally getting his first hit in the game that became the Rangers first defeat after seven straight wins.

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