I have been lucky enough to witness first-hand some incredible sports moments at Yankee Stadium: The Yankees beating the Braves in Game 6 of the 1996 World Series to capture their first title since 1978, the fans giving a NYC firefighter an amazing ovation when he was introduced before Game 1 of the 2001 Division Series against the Oakland A's, President Bush throwing out the first pitch before Game 3 of the `01 World Series, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hitting 9th inning-2-out home runs in back-to-back games of that same World Series, and Aaron Boone hitting the walk-off in Game 7 of the `03 ALCS against Boston. Thanks to Josh Hamilton, last night will be another moment that I will talk about for the rest of my life.

When Hamilton was first introduced, I gave him a standing ovation for obvious reasons. After everything he has been through in his life, to turn it around and do what he's doing now is remarkable. Little did I realize that that would be the first of several standing ovations I would give him.

The first swing he took, he sent a ball soaring through the air that hit the UTZ Potato Chips sign on the back wall of the Stadium. In my life, I have only seen one other person hit that sign, and that was Darryl Strawberry in a game against the Boston Red Sox I believe in 1995 (if I'm not mistaken, Strawberry did it against the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield). When Hamilton did it Monday night, my reaction was much the same, "He just hit the UTZ sign!!!"

Well, a couple of swings later, he did something I have NEVER seen before, and that was hit the frieze in right center field. The place went crazy and rightfully so. People have often wondered if anybody could ever hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium, and with the exception of Mickey Mantle's famous shot that hit the lights, Hamilton came the closest.

 It was at that moment I knew we were watching something special, something we would never forget. He followed that up with a couple of shots off the video board in right-center, and then majestic shots deep into the upper deck. But then he did something that I'm not sure people saw while watching on TV. Before the fans began chanting his name (which was awesome), and before Milton Bradley came out to towel him off, Hamilton stepped out of the batter's box and looked around the Stadium. It was as if he was actually thinking to himself, "Is this really happening to me? Here I am at Yankee Stadium, hitting shot after shot in front of nearly 54,000 people, getting standing ovation after standing ovation."

When Hamilton's first round finally came to an end, he got another standing ovation, although this time it was from his peers. Players from both teams mobbed him at the plate in the ultimate sign of respect as they knew how lucky they were to witness that display.

Shortly thereafter my cell phone rang, and sure enough it was my father on the other end. "I haven't seen a player hit home runs like that since Mickey Mantle. So high, and so far. That was unbelievable."

When my dad said that, it got me thinking. Just a couple of weeks ago I read an article about Hamilton where a scout who watched him in high school, said that he was the best talent he had ever seen, ever! Well, many had said the same thing about Mantle.

Fast forward nearly 60 years, and in the final year of Yankee Stadium, we witnessed something that brought back memories of Mantle and Ruth thanks to a guy whose nickname is "The Natural." After all the years of battling his drug addiction, and at the age of 27, Hamilton is beginning to make that scout look like a genius, and make us feel fortunate to have the opportunity to watch him play. Thanks Josh, for a night that I will never forget. We're all cheering for you.