Joey Hamilton - Early Years and College

Early Years and College

Hamilton was born on September 9, 1970, in Statesboro, Georgia to Jack Hamilton and Helen Mathis. He attended Statesboro High School before the Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. Hamilton decided against signing with the Orioles, opting instead to play college baseball for Georgia Southern University.

As a sophomore at Georgia Southern in 1990, Hamilton had a 18–4 record with a 3.07 ERA. He was one of nine finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, and he earned Second Team All-American honors from The Sporting News and Baseball America. However, at the beginning of his junior season he went 1–3 with a 7.43 ERA after starting five games. It was soon discovered that Hamilton was suffering from an elbow injury, which forced him to have surgery in 1992.

Hamilton held the Georgia Southern baseball record for appearances, starts, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts until 1995. He was elected to the Georgia Southern University Athletics Department Hall of Fame in 1997.

"It came as a bit of a shock because I really hadn't heard much from the Padres."

Joey Hamilton, upon being drafted by the San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres drafted Hamilton eighth overall in the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft, making him the highest drafted Atlantic Sun Conference baseball player in the league's history. He eventually signed a contract with the Padres worth $415,000 after a short period in which Hamilton refused to sign a contract. He was surprised upon hearing of his selection, saying "It came as a bit of a shock because I really hadn't heard much from the Padres." According to Hamilton's mother, Hamilton only signed the deal because his father Jack was dying of cancer, and it had been his father's dream to watch his son pitch in the major leagues. Following the draft, Hamilton joined Team USA in Canada in preparation for the Olympics.

In 1992, Padres general manager Joe McIlvaine stated the Padres would have never selected Hamilton if they knew his agent was Scott Boras. McIlvaine said of the situation, "Basically, he lied to us. We had no idea. That's why half the time, you don't know who he represents. very good at that. His clients are very good about keeping their mouths shut." McIlvaine retracted his comments about Hamilton and Boras after Boras threatened to sue McIlvaine.