A five-time All-Star, Hamilton won three Silver Slugger Awards and was named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2010.

[2] Of majority Scottish heritage, Hamilton was raised in Raleigh, playing Little League Baseball alongside former South Carolina and Oakland Athletics catcher Landon Powell.

Hamilton later joined the Short Season Single-A club, the Hudson Valley Renegades, and helped lead them to their first New York–Penn League championship.

His mother returned home and Hamilton, with an injured back, found himself unable to play baseball, flush with cash and unsupervised by his parents for the first time.

[11] Hamilton only played 45 games in the 2001 season, split between the Charleston (Single-A) and the Orlando Rays, a Double-A team in the Southern League.

At the start of the season, Hamilton showed up late several times during spring training and was reassigned to the team's minor league camp.

Hamilton was hoping to return to spring training with the Devil Rays in 2004, though was suspended 30 days and fined for violating the drug policy put in place by MLB.

Hamilton played in 15 games with the Hudson Valley Renegades at the end of the 2006 season, his second stint with the minor league ball club.

[15][17] In their coverage of the draft, Chris Kline and John Manuel of Baseball America called Hamilton "the biggest name in the Rule 5 in many years".

In order to retain the rights to Hamilton, though, the Reds would have to keep him on their Major League 25-man roster for the entire 2007 season, so they planned to use him as a fourth outfielder.

[19] Hamilton made his Major League debut at the age of 26 on April 2 against the Chicago Cubs in a pinch-hit appearance, receiving a 22-second standing ovation.

On May 22, the Reds placed Hamilton on the 15-day disabled list with gastroenteritis; they activated him on June 5 after he batted .333 (8-for-24) with four home runs and six RBIs in a six-game Minor League rehabilitation assignment.

Hamilton, usually slotted fourth in the Texas batting order, led all major league players in RBIs for the month of April.

[31][32] Fans selected Hamilton as one of the starting outfielders for the AL at the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

[37][38] Hamilton ended up hitting the most total home runs in the contest with 35, but lost in the final round to Justin Morneau, as the scores were reset.

[43][1] He won a Silver Slugger Award[44] and finished seventh in the balloting for AL MVP, behind Dustin Pedroia, Justin Morneau, Kevin Youkilis, Joe Mauer, Carlos Quentin, and Francisco Rodríguez.

Then, in the same series against the Angels, Hamilton leaped at the wall in center field and slammed into it, robbing Howie Kendrick of a possible home run.

[50][49][better source needed] In August 2009, Hamilton acknowledged that he had become intoxicated at an Arizona bar in January and had been photographed "in lurid poses" with women other than his wife.

[57] He also finished fourth in Major League Baseball in OBP (.411), first in slugging percentage (.633) and OPS (1.044), and tied for 10th in home runs (32), despite missing 29 games due to an injury.

[66] He returned to the Rangers' lineup on May 23, and went 2–4 against Chicago White Sox pitcher John Danks, hitting his first home run of the season on the second pitch he saw during his first at-bat.

[1] On July 7, during a home game at Rangers Ballpark, a 39-year-old firefighter died while catching a foul ball tossed into the stands by Hamilton.

[68] On September 30, the son of the fallen firefighter threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Hamilton to start the American League Division Series.

[85] Despite the ruling, Angels owner Arte Moreno made comments to the media implying that he did not want Hamilton back on the team's roster.

[91][92][93][94] After rehabilitating his injured shoulder between the Rangers' AA and AAA Minor League affiliates, Hamilton was called up to the MLB team on May 24, and was inserted into the starting lineup on May 25 in a Memorial Day matchup in Cleveland against the Indians.

Hamilton was hoping to return to spring training with the Devil Rays in 2004, though was suspended 30 days and fined for violating the drug policy put in place by MLB.

[14] During the days of his most prolific abuse, Hamilton met a businessman named Michael Chadwick, who made an attempt to steer him in the right direction.

[112] Although this news did not break until August 2009, Hamilton revealed he had informed his wife, the Texas Rangers, and MLB the day after the incident occurred.

[115] The Rangers repeated the celebrations with ginger ale the following postseason when they won their second consecutive pennant and reached the 2011 World Series.

[85] Hamilton was arrested on October 30, 2019, and charged with injury to a child, a third-degree felony, after being accused of physically assaulting his oldest daughter.

Hamilton received a year of probation, was fined $500, and was ordered to perform 20 hours of community service; the court also imposed other requirements upon him.