Josh Hamilton has relapsed on alcohol and cocaine, that much we know.
He didn't fail a test but instead self-reported the transgression to Major League Baseball and will enter the program as a first-time offender.
Of course, Hamilton's not a first-time offender. But all of his prior missteps and suspensions occurred before he was ever on a major-league roster. Yet, there are still some thoughts and reports out there that he could face a suspension from MLB, even if it's only 25 games.
Either way, Hamilton won't be back in baseball before late May, as he's recovering from shoulder surgery, and while he's been at a friend's ranch in Houston, his teammates are in Arizona at spring training and talked on Thursday to the Los Angeles Times about their teammate.
“I don’t know any of the details so I can’t really talk about that,” Hamilton's outfield mate Mike Trout told the newspaper. “We miss him and hope everything works out.”
Hamilton's teammate C.J. Wilson, who was also his teammate in Texas and is known follower of the "straightedge" community and would often room with Hamilton on the road and play X-Box while teammates were out for dinner and drinks, had some comments in true Wilson fashion.
“I had some family members that went through some of this stuff growing up,” Wilson said. “That’s one of the reasons why I’m straightedged. I’ve never drank or done drugs in my life because I know exactly how scary this stuff is.
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“And how the pull of addiction is a lifelong struggle for people…. It’s not like a haircut, you know what I mean? It’s not like ‘Oh, I just got my haircut so I’m fine now.’ It’s not like that at all.… It’s like a tattoo, you know, it’s there forever.”
Well said, Ceej. Very well said.
