It's the kind of story Homer would have enjoyed, or any of the Greek poets or dramatists, a modern-day morality tale of uncommon talents undone by the most common of downfalls.
We knew Josh Hamilton as a 17-year-old prodigy and we knew him as a troubled addict who threw away his career and fortune. We knew him as a reborn young man trying to make a comeback and we knew his moment of triumph at the 2008 All-Star Game home run derby, held on the game's grandest stage at the old Yankee Stadium, when he was the hero he always expected to be.
And now Hamilton is once again on an international stage, scooping up award after award with both of his tattooed arms, leading the Texas Rangers on an unlikely run to the World Series, knocking off the powerful Yankees along the way - none of it any more unlikely than how Hamilton got here in the first place.
The son of a contractor and a state employee, Hamilton's ability to smash and throw a baseball at Athens Drive High School made him the most prized prospect in the 1999 draft. The then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays grabbed him with the first overall pick, giving him a $4 million signing bonus.
His parents traveled with him on the road during his first two years in the minors, but when a car accident left both him and them injured in 2001, he was alone - for the first time in his life. He wandered into a tattoo parlor and took his first steps down a long road of alcohol and cocaine abuse.
It would take six years, countless relapses, cover-ups and denials, a year-long suspension from baseball, eight visits to rehabilitation clinics, a new team, a new family and a newfound faith before Hamilton would finally make his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007.
His rookie season was stunning, considering the years he spent away from the game: 19 home runs in only 90 games. After he was traded to the Rangers that offseason, he posted remarkable numbers, hitting .304 with 32 home runs and a league-leading 132 RBIs.
This year, Hamilton made a run at the American League triple crown before breaking two ribs in a collision with the outfield wall in September and missing almost a month, but still led the AL in hitting at .359.
As his career gained speed, he released a candid, graphic autobiography, "Beyond Belief," after the 2008 season, detailing how far he fell before his newfound spirituality helped him recover and become a better person, husband, father of three and baseball player.
His past is never far behind. An agent from major-league baseball can arrive at his door at any time, demanding a urine sample, and his path has not always been smooth. In January 2009, he was photographed drinking in an Arizona bar, an unexpected relapse and a reminder of how tenuous his battle for sobriety can be - one reason why his Texas teammates have celebrated their milestones this season with ginger ale, not breaking out the champagne or beer until Hamilton had departed.
Anyone who saw Hamilton play at Athens Drive would have expected, quite reasonably, to see him in this very spot on this very day. They would not know of the troubles that nearly cost him his career, never mind his life. They would only see the same person swinging a bat with such ability, and in the end this Hamilton is still that Hamilton.
They would only ask why his teammates were celebrating with soda, and then they would know.
