Josh Hamilton Mixing It Up With LAA Fans (Video)

Thursday, in an absolutely shocking bit of sports news, five-time American League All-Star Josh Hamilton bolted the Texas Rangers, when agreeing to a five-year/$125 million contract with his former team's archrival, the Los Angeles Angels. With recent speculation pointing to the 2010 AL MVP either departing for the Seattle Mariners, or more than likely returning to play baseball in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, out of nowhere, the Angels swooped in to deal a significant blow to the highly successful Rangers organization.

Two days after the Hamilton transaction was announced, the Angels and Hamilton conducted an introductory news conference at the ESPN Zone, Downtown Disney. The world famous Disneyland Resort sits just three miles west of Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

While Hamilton, LA owner Arte Moreno and field manager Mike Scioscia conducted the media event inside the sports themed restaurant, a large gathering of Angel fans stood outside the venue hoping to catch a glimpse of their team's superstar acquisition, as he made his way to and from the building, via an event coordinated red carpet.

While some diehards were able to mix it up with the power hitter, prior to the affair, (Hamilton arrived at Disney one hour before the festivities began) many elected to watch the telecast on an outdoor screen, hoping for a Hamilton sighting at the conclusion of the day's business.

Finally around 2:00 PM Pacific time, donned in his Angel uniform and hat, the $25 million man reappeared in the Orange County daylight and what a show he put on for the fans!

Per the above iFolloSports.com original video, Hamilton signed autographs, shook hands and posed for photos with literally every single Angel fans who was interested. Simply put, the North Carolina native did everything possible to ingratiate himself to his new fan base. It was quite a sight to behold!

In an interesting development, the lefty thrower and hitter appears to sign his signature right-handed.  

Saturday's display was not the first time Hamilton's level of class with fans was captured via iFolloSports.com cameras.

Last June, Hamilton was seen making several baseball fan's day, outside the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Anaheim-Orange County, the Rangers' hotel of choice when visiting the Angels. Ironically, this situation took place only four miles south of Hamilton's most recent act of class.

While there is no question that Hamilton has experienced his share of difficulty in his personal life, there appears to be little doubt regarding the way in which the newest Angel handles his business, when spending time amongst the sporting public. The hugely talented ballplayer really appears to respect his profession's paying customer.