Major League Baseball

Hamilton's life top priority as reports of relapse surface

Published Feb. 25, 2015 9:44 p.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

Upon hearing the grim news about Josh Hamilton, I went back and checked what I wrote on the outfielder’s finest hour, the night in May 2012 when he hit four two-run homers and a double at Camden Yards.

“It was like a video game — stupid,” said Mike Napoli, Hamilton’s teammate at the time with the Texas Rangers. “He’s 5A, 6A. There’s Triple-A, the big leagues and then there’s one ahead. He’s in that league.”

Was in that league.

We don’t know what league Hamilton is in anymore, or if he will ever produce major-league magic again.

Hamilton, 33, met Wednesday with baseball officials in New York about a disciplinary issue and the Angels are bracing for possible penalties, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Hamilton’s father-in-law, Michael Chadwick, told Newsday that the player has “hit a bump in the road, keep him in your prayers.” Multiple outlets reported that Hamilton, a recovering drug addict, had a relapse that involved at least cocaine, but baseball offered no immediate confirmation.

Baseball classifies cocaine as a “drug of abuse.” Discipline for Hamilton would be at the commissioner’s discretion, sources told FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi. Hamilton is outside the standard program because of failed drug tests that he incurred in the minors.

Whatever the offense, whatever the outcome, one of baseball’s best comeback stories is turning into one of its saddest falls from grace. Hamilton’s future is in question, and not just his baseball future. He is a husband and father. What will become of the rest of his life?

It’s tempting to say that Hamilton should never have left the Rangers to sign a five-year, $125 million free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Angels after the 2012 season. But Hamilton reportedly had at least two known alcohol relapses while in his supposed comfort zone in Texas. There is no way to know how he would have reacted if he had signed his big-money deal with the Rangers instead.

The Angels seemingly were trying to make things easier for Hamilton, who struggled in his first two seasons with the club. They planned to rest him more after acquiring outfielder Matt Joyce from the Rays, and hired Johnny Narron, Hamilton’s former accountability partner with the Rangers, as their Triple-A hitting coach.

Yet the Angels, according to major-league sources, also discussed a possible Hamilton trade with at least two teams in December — the Rangers and Padres. The talks were exploratory in nature, they did not gain traction and the Angels did not contact Hamilton about waiving his no-trade clause, sources said.

Now what?

The Angels owe Hamilton a whopping $83 million over the next three seasons. He does not figure to be suspended for that entire time, and he has other problems, too. Let’s not forget, Hamilton underwent surgery to repair the AC joint of his right shoulder earlier this month. A variety of injuries limited him to 89 games last season, and he batted only .263 with 10 homers and a .745 OPS.

The good news for the Angels, if you want to call it that, is that they would not pay Hamilton during a suspension. The Yankees caught the same “break” with Alex Rodriguez last season, and the effect could be similar; the Angels’ savings on Hamilton could amount to millions.

Such talk is inevitable, but also uncomfortable. We are talking about a human being, not to mention the 2010 American League MVP. Hamilton’s story previously served as a stirring example of what recovering addicts could accomplish. Now it could turn out to be yet another crushing story about the horrors of addiction.

On the night Hamilton hit his four homers, I wrote, “This was not a night to lament what Hamilton might have become if he had not lost years of his career to injuries, addictions and suspensions. Nor was it a night to predict what he might earn on the free-agent market next offseason if the Rangers fail to sign him to a new contract. This was a night to celebrate one of the most gifted athletes ever to play the game, to revel in who he is, right now.”

“Write good stuff!” Hamilton told reporters cheerfully when his postgame news conference was over.

It was a pleasure, Josh.

Oh, to do it again.

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