At the 2008 Home Run Derby, Josh Hamilton launched a record 28 home runs in a single round, some traveling over 500 feet. Just a couple of years earlier, the former number one overall pick was out of baseball entirely, sleeping on an air mattress and cleaning bathrooms at a youth academy.

This deep dive follows the extreme pendulum of his life, swinging between generational brilliance on the field and tragic self-destruction off it, and asks what we demand of athletes we cast as redemption heroes.

• The car accident and injury that opened the door to addiction
• Suspensions, a Rule 5 return, and a 22-second debut ovation in Cincinnati
• His 2010 AL MVP and the Rangers’ ginger-ale celebrations built to protect him
• Four home runs and 18 total bases in one game against Baltimore
• The disastrous Angels contract, relapse, and difficult post-career years