Josh Hamilton Marquee

Tampa Bay took him first overall out of a North Carolina high school in 1999. He did not play organized baseball at all between 2003 and 2006: he was addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol, was suspended repeatedly, and by his own account nearly died. He reached the major leagues in 2007, at twenty-six, through the Rule 5 draft.

In 2010 he hit .359, the best average in the American League, with 32 home runs, and won the Most Valuable Player award with 22 of the 28 first-place votes. He had led the league with 130 runs batted in in 2008, hit 43 home runs in 2012, and hit four in one game that May.

Nine seasons gave him 1,134 hits, 200 home runs, 701 runs batted in and a .290 average, with five All-Star selections and three Silver Sluggers. He relapsed in 2009 and again in 2015, spoke about both, and was out of the game at thirty-four. He is not on a Hall of Fame ballot.