Josh Hamilton wins 2010 American League Most Valuable Player

Josh Hamilton added another title to his unbelievable career this afternoon. Hamilton, 29, has been a can't-miss first round pick, a baseball bust, a drug fiend, a Hollywood comeback story, a playoff hero. Now add one more: 2010 American League MVP.

Hamilton, the Texas Rangers center fielder and reigning ALCS MVP, finished first over Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera and New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano. The vote wasn't all that close, with Hamilton receiving 22 of 28 first-place votes and Cabrera receiving five. Cano, somewhat surprisingly, did not receive any. Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, who led the majors with 54 home runs, finished fourth and received the other first-place vote.

Hamilton won the award despite a late-season injury that reduced his playing this season to 133 games. He led the majors with a .359 batting average and a .633 slugging percentage to go with 32 home runs and 100 RBIs, lifting the Rangers to a postseason trip that turned into the franchise's first World Series appearance.

Hamilton was the first overall pick of the 1999 draft, one of the most heralded prospects in baseball history. First injuries, and then a crippling drug addiction, bottomed out his life. He first made the majors, after a remarkable recovery, in 2007 and quickly blossomed into the player so many thought he would be.