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Angels and Demons in the Outfield:

Understanding the Struggles and Pressures in the Sports World through Fantasy-Theme Criticism

Abstract:

Josh Hamilton’s book, “Beyond Belief” is criticized in order to gain an understanding of the

techniques writers use in similar testimonies so that the reader will be able to have a greater

understanding of the personal experience of the writer. Fantasy-theme criticism is used in order

to recognize the themes and rhetorical vision Hamilton creates throughout his book. Not only are

those who are already familiar with the competitiveness and pressures in sports able to relate to

his story, but by using certain techniques within the book, his story is able to relate to an even

broader audience. The focus of the book at first glance may be a baseball player and his story,

but by picking out the themes and rhetorical vision, we are able to see that the focus is much

more broad than that and can allow people to relate on different levels, such as having dealt with

drugs themselves, knowing someone who has dealt with any type of addiction, or who has felt

the pressures from other situations besides sports and felt they have not met their goals.

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Professional athletes go through experiences that many will never be able to understand.

Some athletes endure struggles harsh enough to force them off the track they set for themselves

and will have a hard time connecting with those around who are unaware of the pressures and

competitiveness in the sports industry. Josh Hamilton, outfielder for the Texas Rangers,

overcame an obstacle that lead him to believe he would never return as a baseball player just a

few years ago, and has put his story and testimony down in words in order to try to communicate

to readers his experience. Since his readers are not limited to being professional athletes who

have undergone an experience like his, Hamilton creates a rhetorical vision of the

competitiveness and pressures of sports and what could happen as a result and uses symbolic

convergence in order to relate his personal journey and how he got through his fallout to readers

who may be able to relate to his story from various aspects.

Studies have been conducted emphasizing the pressures and competitiveness in sports,

which could lead to some of the struggles that athletes like Hamilton experienced. The pressures

are often from coaches, fans, and fellow teammates and have been discussed as external

pressures, but internal pressures too, such as the ability to fulfill personal goals affect the sports

figure. Mark Anshel and W. Larry Gregory emphasize the pressure as a result of extremely high

expectations of players’ coaches, fans, and fellow teammates (3). Although this external pressure

is important to understand, in Hamilton’s story, the emphasis seems to be on the internal pressure

mentioned in the article, especially the ability to fulfill personal goals. This will be used to better

to relate to more readers who have goals for themselves that they are unable to meet, not

necessarily from a professional baseball team like Hamilton, but from other pressures from

different aspects in their lives.

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Roy Baumeister and Carolin J. Showers also describe the pressures from one’s personal

goals, specifically stating that it is because the individual knows the expectations and goals from

others that the feel they create their own expectations for themselves (362). An interesting point

they state is that a player’s performance is based on the idea that they may not have a second

chance; in the case of Hamilton, once he was injured he was not sure he was going to be given

another chance to play baseball on a professional level, so this led to him giving up on himself

and realizing he would not be able to meet the expectations he had for himself. G.P. Mohrmann

also touches on the idea that individual dreams are important in one’s action; if one’s dreams are

not being fulfilled, it may result in various ways. The dreams may be altered in order for them to

be met this way, or negative actions may result from the lack of fulfillment of the already stated

dreams of the past (3).

To better understand how the pressures, competitiveness and lack of fulfillment of goals

work as major ideas of “Beyond Belief,” it is important to understand the background of Josh

Hamilton, whose story begins like that of many baseball players. He played very well as a young

boy and throughout high school became exceptional enough to gain the interest of scouts and

those affiliated with Major and Minor League baseball. In the 1999 baseball draft, he was the

first player chosen, known for his speech, fielding talent, and home runs. His first year or two

continued on well as he played in the Minor Leagues, but while dealing with an injury that

resulted in an inability to play consistently, his confidence in himself continued to decrease,

eventually leading him to his major moments of weakness. This goes along with the ideas that

once the pressures are put on an athlete or anyone in a competitive situation, and the expectations

are not met, various negative results may occur.

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He said it was possible his downhill journey began with the decision to get a tattoo,

making the image people had of him as a “good boy” who always told his parents everything

disappear. From there, he used the tattoo parlor as an escape from the baseball world he was so

used to being a part of since he felt useless not being able to play ball. Many tattoos later, he

made the decision to try cocaine with a particular group of guys from the parlor, and his downhill

journey continued at a pace faster than he could imagine. He describes this experience in detail

in several stages, and by using fantasy-theme criticism the focus will be on how he connected

this experience with the audience during his before, during, and after stages of his drug

addiction.

The method of rhetorical criticism that is used to analyze “Beyond Belief” is fantasy-

theme criticism, created by Ernest G. Bormann. This particular method, designed to provide

insights into the shared worldview of groups, is relevant to the artifact especially because it is a

testimony of someone who is trying to share his story with his readers (Foss 97). Studies were

also conducted concerning communication in small groups and discovered the process of group

fantasizing as a way of communication (97). From these findings, symbolic convergence theory

was made along with the method of fantasy-theme criticism.

One main component of the theory is fantasizing or dramatizing, which occurs when

individuals find some aspect of a “message that catches and focuses their attention until they

imaginatively participate in images and actions stimulated by the message,” which allows critics

to use the concept in large contexts (97). It is also necessary to understand the two assumptions

of symbolic convergence theory—communication creates reality and that symbols not only

create reality for individuals but that individuals’ meanings for symbols can converge to create a

shared reality or community consciousness (97). This comes to the conclusion that convergence

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theory refers “to the way two or more private symbolic worlds incline toward each other, come

more closely together, or even overlap during certain processes of communication” (97).

Frequent mentions of a theme, a narrative, or an analogy are evidence of symbolic convergence.

The two basic units of analysis for symbolic convergence theory and fantasy-theme

criticism are the fantasy theme and the rhetorical vision. The fantasy theme is the means through

which the interpretation is accomplished in communication (Foss 98). A fantasy theme could be

a word, phrase, or statement that interprets events in the past, envisions events in the future, or

depicts current events that are removed in time and/or space from the actual activities of a group.

The rhetorical vision is a “unified putting together of the various shared fantasies” (Foss 100).

Within the rhetorical vision there are fantasy themes relating to settings, characters, and actions

that together form a symbolic drama or coherent interpretation of reality (100).

By using fantasy-theme criticism to analyze Josh Hamilton’s book, “Beyond Belief,” we

are able to view his overall message and desire to communicate this message by breaking down

the book into several rhetorical visions as a result of different fantasy themes included

throughout his story.

The first step when analyzing the book is to recognize the some of the fantasy themes in

order to understand how the rhetorical vision has come about. The different themes to code are

setting, character, and action themes. The setting in “Beyond Belief” consists of several

throughout the story and varies from different perspectives. One is the overall idea of the

baseball setting because the majority of the book takes place around baseball activities, teams,

players, and fans. This is an important setting because it relates to the overall idea that he

experienced this in a sports atmosphere and allows the audience to better relate to his story,

especially if they are involved in the same sort of environment as well. This goes along with the

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idea within fantasy-theme criticism that if one idea is brought up by a particular person or rhetor,

those who are involved or have experienced something similar will automatically have grown

interest in the topic and be able to contribute to what is being discussed. Along with the idea that

the book has an ability to interest even those who are not included in the sports atmosphere is the

setting theme of the tattoo parlor where he turned to numerous times when he was using it as an

escape from the baseball world. This happens during the middle part of the story and seems to be

directly related to the beginning of Hamilton’s experimenting and addiction to drugs. With this

setting theme, people who have gone through struggles with drugs or any sort of addiction are

able to easily relate, especially because many times, this experiences begin with being

surrounded by the wrong types of people, much like Hamilton was.

The character theme is also important to understand; in this case there were several

characters that were important enough to influence Hamilton. The most general “character”

would be the various figures within the baseball setting such as the coaches, managers, and fans.

This emphasizes the pressures in the sports industry. Because he is surrounded by the people

within the baseball world he has put himself into, he is affected greatly by their opinions and

image they expect him to fulfill as a professional baseball player. His family members are also

characters that play an important part in his story, each with different roles during Hamilton’s

journey. His parents are especially important during the beginning part of the book, when he

discusses his beginning of his baseball career because they were the ones that he surrounded

himself by because he felt they were better to be around than some of the players. They were

clearly an important part of all of the decisions he made when they were around him, but many

of the other characters in the baseball setting seemed to not only contrast the influence they had

on him but were oppose to the idea that Hamilton was so “dependent” on his parents. Eventually

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because of several situations, his parents were unable to be as involved in his life as they were

before and their relationship was disconnected. This was one change that led to the introduction

of another character that goes along with the setting of the tattoo parlor.

After becoming used to the idea of hanging around the tattoo parlor, he became even

more used to the environment and eventually accepted an invitation from the workers to go out

one night, leading to the initial decision he made to experiment with drugs. As the story goes

through different stages of his journey, the characters and their importance change as well.

Obviously the tattoo parlor workers had a bigger influence during his time of addiction, but as he

was struggling to recover, a new figure came into his life, Katie, who is now his wife. Though

things didn’t change immediately after he met her, there was that positive influence she had on

him and it ended up having a permanent effect on him.

The action theme is the last one to find in a piece of rhetoric when using fantasy-theme

criticism. In “Beyond Belief,” the actual actions he takes part in are specific, but represent

greater, more general ideas, allowing the rhetorical vision these themes will create to be broader,

including more audience members. The action of Hamilton playing baseball seems significant

yet very specific at first glance, but after understanding that it will be able to represent the action

of any sport and the pressure received once one takes part in a sport it is seen as an important

action theme within the book. Another action theme that plays an important role in the book is

the inability to fulfill expectations within the sport; in Hamilton’s case it is specifically because

he got hurt and was unable to play baseball on a regular basis. The different actions he takes part

in represent the different stage of the book, such as the action theme of experimenting and

becoming dependent on drugs. This is the central part of the story, which takes place after being

unable to fulfill his duties as a professional baseball player, but before the final stage—recovery.

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The ending of the book is represented mostly by the action of recovering from his addiction,

again not necessarily just from cocaine which is the drug he was dependent on, but can be

representative of any sort of addiction to drugs, alcohol, or anything negative. Even within that

action theme, his methods of recovering such as receiving help from those close to him, the

character discussed as Katie, and the use of religion can be seen as important action themes in

reference to the rhetorical vision.

It is then necessary to recognize the rhetorical vision or visions brought together from the

connection of the setting, character, and action themes. All of the themes were specifically

related to Hamilton and his story, yet he finds a way to connect these themes to a broader

audience and not just those who have dealt with the exact situation as his. By doing so, he creates

a rhetorical vision that includes the pressures and high competitiveness that comes along with

being involved in a sport. Along with those pressures come the actions and possible negative

decisions some make when unable to fulfill the expectations from those within the sports

environment, which is another part of the rhetorical vision that Hamilton creates in relation to his

own experience. One last part of the rhetorical vision is the idea that it is significant who one

chooses to surround him or herself with in order to influence decisions made during these

struggles and hard times, and different ways to deal with these problems, such as religion and

spiritual growth. With this rhetorical vision Hamilton creates, readers are able to relate to what

he has gone through if they have experienced something similar, even if it is not specifically a

baseball player dealing with drug problems.

Specific points, ideas, and literary devices included within the book can be recognized in

order to emphasize and complement the themes and visions created. The first is Hamilton’s

strong use of contrast within his book. The story he tells can be divided up into three major parts

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or stages, each contrasting greatly with the one following. The first stage is focused on the

beginning of his journey and introduction into the professional baseball environment. Generally,

there is nothing negative within this section and is used to explain the background of Hamilton’s

life, but more importantly it is written in order to allow us to understand what he was

experiencing during this time period, and tries to put us on the same level in order to allow us to,

in a way, experience this sudden change and transformation into professional baseball player

ourselves. The characters this section revolves around mostly are his parents and the figures

within the baseball setting, which emphasizes why these themes discussed earlier are of such

importance.

Moving on to the next section focused on his struggle with drugs and his detachment

from his love of baseball, there is an obvious moving point in chapter six of the book when

Hamilton discusses the tattoos he got. At this point, he had already been experimenting with

various tattoos and went to the parlor as an escape away from baseball, so his body was full of

ink. He speaks of two significant tattoos, both on the same leg—one of Jesus’ face superimposed

over a cross, and the other of a demon with no eyes (85). He states how at the time, he was

unable to see what it signified, but now as he looks back he understands it was the symbolism of

a “spiritual warfare taking place subconsciously on (his) body” (85). The chapter itself is less

than a page long, just long enough to introduce the idea of this spiritual warfare and his soon to

be struggle with addiction. The short chapter is increases the intensity of his problem he is about

to endure, and the last three short sentences enhance the idea even more: “The soulless demon.

The face of Jesus. The battle had begun” (85). Included in this section are vivid images he sees

of the devil and descriptions of the torment he receives alongside his experimentation and

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addiction to cocaine, with the help of different characters from the first, mostly the workers from

the tattoo parlor itself.

The last section transforms into the recovery stage of Hamilton’s journey, and the

transformation is more subtle and less sudden than what is seen in chapter six. With the new

characters of Katie, his wife and other family members who assisted him positively during his

struggle, he tries to recover from his addiction and change back into the person he was during the

first stage of the book. There are still a few images of the devil’s torment described in this

section, but even more of Jesus guiding him in the right direction, assisting with the subtle

movement from the addiction stage to the recovery stage in the book. This eventually leads to his

dependence on religion and a spiritual growth as a recovery method, one of the last action

themes discussed. Addicts of various sorts and their modes of recovery are reviewed, and growth

in spirituality is common. The idea that addicts were “born again” was an important factor that is

consistent with the story Hamilton tells (Galanter 290). Zila van der Meer Sanchez and Solange

A. Nappo also include specific activities of prayer and attending church in their article, an

analysis of spirituality as a recovery method for addicts. Judith Grant touches on the importance

of individuality in such a case in her article, and furthers the topic including a discussion on

symbolic interactionism along with concepts of self and reflexivity (523).

The different stages Hamilton includes in his book are necessary to understand the

different stages he went through himself throughout his experience with addiction. Michael A.

Katovich also uses a similar approach in his narrative and uses details from his journey “from

chaos to a moment of serenity” (1). Within his paper he uses themes including loss, love,

dissolution, addiction, institutionalization, and codes of the street (1). His approach seems to be

effective in including outsiders who may not have gone through the struggles of addiction, and

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Hamilton uses a similar structure in his paper displaying the chaotic stage as well as the before

and after, including the audience in the best way that he can.

The idea of spirituality assisting one’s recovery from drug addiction leads to the

understanding of the values Hamilton depicts as important throughout the story. In Sarah

Kornfield’s analysis of an animated Japanese show, she explains how it creates a rhetorical

vision which has a focus on self-esteem, authenticity, and life’s inherent value. Though the show

is a very different source than a book, the analysis Kornfield did was able to serve as a guide in

analyzing an artifact using fantasy-theme criticism, especially one based on similar values. Like

the Japanese show, “Beyond Belief” includes a similar rhetorical vision for its readers,

emphasizing important values for one’s life. Because it was such a struggle and long journey for

him, Hamilton tells his story not to explain his actions of the past or to apologize, but instead has

a goal of relating his message to the audience and allowing readers to relate to his story. As an

athlete, he has a clear connection with other athletes and figures in the sports industry, but with

his drug addiction and other struggles, he relates to many more.

Like previously mentioned, there are pressures from external factors (coaches, fans,

teammates, etc.) which could lead to one becoming obsessed to live up to their expectations, but

once they have experienced “failure,” in the recovery stage of addiction it is important for one to

recognize their own personal identity and understand what they want to achieve. In many cases,

like Hamilton’s, a growth in spirituality will help one achieve this. This new idea of religion and

spirituality is a huge contrast from the previous section, and the difference between the sections

within the book, and between the images he sees of God and the devil are ways Hamilton creates

his rhetorical vision in order to relate to audience members.

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Repetition is another way Hamilton emphasizes certain points within his rhetorical vision

he creates. One specific example of this is in the last section during the recovery stage. From

pages 171 to 174 the phrase “piece by piece” is repeated several times throughout the paragraphs.

It is in this section that he is actually beginning his recovery and is not seen as a failure anymore

because at this point, his grandmother actually trusted him with her credit card, something that

would have been seen as a risky move just weeks before because he would have used it to obtain

more drugs. He says he was only able to use the credit card to order pizza and he would leave the

receipts on the kitchen table in order for his grandmother to know that is what he spent it on, but

as he states, he just had to take gradually recover and gain more responsibilities “piece by piece.”

In this period he also speaks about how he wanted to spend time with his wife and children

around Christmas, but Katie was not quite ready to have him over at the house so they met up at

a parking lot and he was able to hold his two daughters; not something that would fulfill most

men’s desire with his family, but for Hamilton, he saw this as just one of the “pieces” that fit into

the bigger picture of his recovery.

The rhetorical vision created by Hamilton is one that is made in order to relate to as broad

an audience as possible, and has the main point of allowing his readers to understand the long,

harsh journey he went to as much as possible. In order to achieve this, he used several

techniques. One is the decision of using the written word in order to reach a wider audience. This

is the case of many public figures who decide to put their story down in words, but in Hamilton’s

case it seems significant because though in the past year his popularity throughout the baseball

world has grown and he has given speeches and speaks openly about his testimony to the public,

he found a way to try to include even more people in his story. By writing a book, he now is able

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to grasp the attention of not only Texas Rangers fans, or even baseball fans, but people interested

in sports, addiction, competitiveness, or any of the other broad topics the book relates to.

Not only his decision to write the book, but the way he decided to write it affect the

overall rhetorical vision and connection to the audience. Instead of trying to make the book

sound as professional or as wordy as possible, Hamilton uses a very conversational and casual

tone like he is just speaking to someone about what he has gone through. He even mentions in

the beginning that he was anything but good in his English class, so it is ironic that he is the

author and main subject of a published book. Through this casual tone and atmosphere he creates

from the beginning of the book, the audience is able to better relate and understand the

experiences Hamilton has gone through.

By using fantasy-theme to criticize Hamilton’s story, we are able to understand how this

theory can be used with similar stories and testimonies. Many testimonies are written by authors

about personal experiences, but try to grasp the audience’s attention by bringing them into the

experience themselves. By criticizing Hamilton’s testimony, we find certain techniques that can

be used by writers to connect to their audience in a more broad way. The analysis allows us to

now understand how to bring the reader closer to the author’s experience and how certain literary

devices, such as contrast or repetition, can be used to grasp the reader’s attention even more and

include them in the experience he or she is reading about. Whether or not this is the best

approach to take when writing a testimony and whether these techniques are the best ones to be

used is still to be determined. By using other theories to criticize similar texts, we will be able to

have a better understanding of how to effectively communicate one’s message and experience

with his or her audience.

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Josh Hamilton has a unique story of his long battle with drugs after falling off his path of

his lifelong dream of being a professional baseball player. The competitiveness and pressures

within sports is not known to all, and because of that Hamilton chooses to create a rhetorical

vision that a broad audience can relate to. He has been very public about his journey and

struggles and by writing a book using the techniques he has, he brings even more people into the

experience on a personal level, allowing them to relate in various ways

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