Casey Affleck is set to write and direct a biopic of Texas Rangers slugger, Josh Hamilton, who has overcome years of addiction to become one of baseball’s most feared hitters.

Hamilton and his wife will produce the film alongside Thunder Road Pictures and Basil Iwanyk.

It’s fitting to see Hamilton’s story make its way to the silver screen, as his journey is the stuff of high drama. A baseball prodigy in his teen years, Hamilton was the first draft pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft – signing with the Tampa Bay Rays for a record $4 million – before his self-inflicted fall from grace.

This steady fall began with a horrific car accident that left him with a back injury. During the recovery – and subsequent injuries – Hamilton developed an addiction to alcohol and cocaine.

Unable to cope with addiction and baseball, Hamilton left the game, and it was then that he met his now-wife, Kate. But addiction continued until he hit a low-point, where with the encouragement of his wife, got clean and rejoined the game in 2007.

Since then, Hamilton has stayed virtually clean – one small relapse notwithstanding – and has risen to be the most feared hitter in baseball. In fact, Hamilton is currently on pace to become the first triple crown winner (best statistics in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in) since 1967.

While Affleck is set to write or direct, the report from Deadline states that he will not appear in front of the camera. This marks the first directorial effort for the Oscar-nominee since the faux-documentary I’m Still Here in 2010.

Are you excited to see a Josh Hamilton biography hit the big screen?