When asked for his advice on how the Rangers should deal with Josh Hamilton's recent relapse with alcohol, MLB analyst Curt Schilling said the organization needs to get Hamilton everything it can to help him get his life back in order.
"This kid's a once-in-a-generation talent," Schilling said on The Ben and Skin Show [KESN-FM]. "The story to get where he's gotten is worth a movie in itself. He's proved healthy and clean ... I want to see that guy again.
"At the end of the day he's human."
What makes Hamilton's situation more tenuous is that he's under consideration for a long-term contract extension. Should the Rangers refrain from rewarding him with a lucrative deal or step back and address it when Hamilton becomes a free agent?
As far as the business side is concerned, Schilling said a Hamilton contract would have to involve several clauses.
"Josh is a game-changer, he's a franchise-changer," Schilling said. "I think you're going to see a contract that recognizes potentials. Josh is going to have to, in my mind, allow some clauses that if he screws up, he doesn't put the team on the hook. I can't imagine he would do otherwise.
"You want everybody to go in from a positive mindset, but at the end of the day it's a business. It's a multi-billion-dollar-a-year business. Nolan [Ryan] and the ownership group there and the GM and everybody, you do what's best for the long-term health of the franchise."
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