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Josh Hamilton indicted, accused of injuring his oldest daughter

The former AL MVP for the Texas Rangers and the 1999 No. 1 overall pick of the Tampa Bay Rays faces a third-degree felony.
 
Josh Hamilton is congratulated after the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays during Game 5 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field on Oct. 12, 2010.
Josh Hamilton is congratulated after the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays during Game 5 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field on Oct. 12, 2010. [ BORCHUCK, JAMES | St. Petersburg Times ]
Published April 8, 2020|Updated April 9, 2020

Former Texas Rangers slugger and 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton was indicted Monday on one count of injury to a child with intentional bodily injury, a third-degree felony, stemming from a Sept. 30 incident in which he was accused of hurting his oldest daughter.

Hamilton, the No. 1 overall pick by the Rays in the 1999 draft, pleaded not guilty Oct. 31 after turning himself in on Oct. 30 and was released on a $35,000 bond. But the case will be delayed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic. Courts aren’t scheduling hearing until after May 11.

Hamilton’s attorneys say he is innocent of the charge.

Hamilton was accused of throwing a water bottle at his oldest daughter, 14, and hitting her in the chest, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Hamilton also grabbed the chair where his daughter had propped her feet and yanked it from under her, then tossed the chair in her direction, police said. According to the affidavit, the chair struck her leg. Hamilton then picked her up and carried to her room, where he struck her in the back and legs, according to the affidavit.

The reported incident at Hamilton’s Keller home came only two days after he was introduced as one of the greatest Rangers of the Globe Life Park Era (opened in 1994) after the final game at the ballpark, Sept. 29, 2019, in Arlington, Texas.

Hamilton is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic who said in August that he remains sober, but he had multiple headline-grabbing relapses during his career. Two occurred while with the Rangers, who acquired him in a December 2007 trade and watched as he became a five-time All-Star and the American League MVP in 2010.

He left for the Los Angeles Angels in December 2012, but he was traded back to the Rangers after an offseason relapse while he recovered from shoulder surgery. He attempted to play with the Rangers in 2016 and 2017 but needed multiple knee operations.

“The Texas Rangers take the issue of family violence very seriously,” the team said in a statement following Hamilton’s arrest. “We are aware of the situation involving Josh Hamilton. Since this is an ongoing legal matter, we have no further comment.”

At the time, Hamilton shared custody of his three daughters with his ex-wife, Katie, but the court initially banned him from having contact with them. However, that order was amended in December to no unsupervised contact without an adult present.

A case in family court is pending.

After Hamilton was the first overall pick out of high school in the 1999 amateur draft by the Rays, his career was nearly destroyed by cocaine and alcohol addiction. He was left unprotected in the 2006 Rule 5 draft and drafted by the Cubs, who traded him to the Reds.

He returned to baseball with Cincinnati and made his big-league debut in 2007, when he hit 19 homers in 90 games before being traded to the Rangers. He was part of their only two World Series teams (2010 and 2011).