Josh Hamilton, whose drug and alcohol addiction were detailed in his 2008 book, reportedly had a relapse with alcohol this week.
According to Dallas Morning News, Hamilton drank at a local bar in Dallas on Tuesday evening, though the circumstances for the episode were not known. They say teammate Ian Kinsler showed up at the bar to try and convince Hamilton to leave.
Hamilton has gone to great lengths to try and remain sober since reviving his baseball career. The Rangers hired a personal coach to look out for him. The approach seemed to be working; Hamilton has been voted to the All-Star team all four years he’s been with Texas, and he won AL MVP in 2010.
Hamilton seemed to have been maturing, even going so far as to apologize to the Rays organization for being a bad draft pick. He had another episode in 2009 where he was caught drinking, but he immediately notified the team and league about the incident.
By drinking at a bar, Hamilton had to have known the incident would receive publicity. As long as it’s a one-time type of deal, we can’t imagine this being too much of a problem, though it certainly will raise many questions.
