ARLINGTON, Texas - Years ago, Josh Hamilton made a promise to Clay Council. They never shook hands or signed a contract. It was just the word of one baseball player to another.

Hamilton, an Athens Drive student at the time, told Council, an American Legion volunteer coach who tossed batting practice, that if he ever reached Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby he would take him along to pitch.

Three weeks ago, Council's phone rang in his Cary home. On the other end was Hamilton, the former Athens Drive High School phenom and now major league All-Star for the Texas Rangers.

"That's the first guy I thought about," Hamilton said on Thursday after batting practice before a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Rangers Ballpark.

Hamilton added, "He's done so much for so many kids and probably hasn't got a lot of thank yous for it. This is a big thank you."

Hamilton, voted this season to his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game, called Council to remind him of the promises they made to each other years ago.

"Are you as good as your word?" Hamilton asked.

"Yeah, man," Council answered.

And so 71-year-old Clay Council will travel from the Triangle to New York on Sunday to toss pitches to the Raleigh-born Hamilton during Monday night's Major League Baseball Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium.

"That's the plan," Council said on Wednesday. "Unless I get cold feet. I'm 71 years old. Anything can happen. You don't plan too far in advance when you're 71."

Council said Hamilton, who bats left-handed, has never had trouble hitting him, so he was a logical choice.

"Throwing to him throughout the years, he's always hit me so hard," Council said. "I would tease him, 'If you ever have a tryout or get to the Home Run Derby, you better let me throw because you wear me out.' "

There's no reason to believe Council will not put the ball on the money at the Derby. He's delivered strikes to countless young players throughout the Triangle for nearly 40 years as a volunteer coach for Cary High School and Cary American Legion teams.

The 1955 Apex High graduate has had an affinity for baseball since he played American Legion ball in Raleigh as a teenager. He would go on to play three years of rookie professional ball and two years in the Army before returning to his Morrisville hometown and joining the coaching ranks.

For years he worked with Eastern Air Lines and two years ago retired as an employee at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. He has always coached baseball, enjoying the opportunity to offer teenagers praise and guidance. He is still a volunteer coach and holds BP for anybody who wants to hit.

He first pitched to Hamilton when the future All-Star was 13 years old. The youngster tagged along with his brother, Jason, to practice with the Cary American Legion team. He took batting practice, and everyone noticed his enormous talent.

Hamilton, who would play on an American Legion team in Fuquay-Varina, never played for Council, though occasionally he joined the coach for batting practice.

Hamilton took cuts off Council maybe 25 times over the years, and the running joke -- as he mashed balls over the fence -- was always about going to the Derby.

It's taken Hamilton some time and effort to make good on his promise. There have been some major setbacks for the former No. 1 selection in the 1999 baseball draft. A three-and-a-half-year battle with alcohol and drug addiction, combined with injuries, nearly derailed his dreams of major league stardom.

Since then, he's faced his problems. He's owned up to his mistakes. He's relied on his faith and support from family and friends.

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