Josh Hamilton: Angels wouldn’t let me talk to Arte Moreno
The drama between Josh Hamilton and the Angels still has not ended.
Hamilton on Saturday told the media that he tried to be responsible and talk with Angels owner Arte Moreno to personally let him know what was going on, but he was denied that opportunity.
Hamilton, who was traded to the Texas Rangers last month and is beginning a rehab stint in Double-A Frisco, says he tried talking to Moreno going back to his disappointing 2013 season.
“I’ve tried on multiple occasions, and I’ve told everybody this from MLB to (manager) Mike Scioscia, even when I was there and playing in 2013 and wasn’t being the guy that I was supposed to be,” he said via FS Southwest’s Anthony Andro. “In 2014 the same thing, I tried to reach out to the owner Arte and talk to him and tell him, ‘You know what, I’m working my butt off, and I want to be the guy that played against you for all those years.’ I was always turned down by the general manager (Jerry Dipoto) and team president (John Carpino).”
It’s not exactly the best environment for a player if he knows the owner does not want to speak with him. And regardless of what the Angels may say, it was pretty obvious that Moreno did not like Hamilton, was extremely disappointed with him, and just wanted him gone. If Moreno hadn’t made his mind up that he wanted Hamilton gone, then all traces of the former MVP wouldn’t have been removed from the stadium, and the Angels wouldn’t have taken pennies on the dollar for him in a trade.
