Nicky Delmonico appears to have had quite the journey to the big leagues.
A Tuesday feature by The Chicago Tribune’s David Haugh revealed that the White Sox rookie overcame an Adderall addiction on his way to the MLB.
The story shares details of how Delmonico, who was prescribed the attention-deficit disorder drug in high school, almost quit baseball after his addiction drew him a 50-game amphetamine suspension while he was in the Brewers organization. He then asked for his release from Milwaukee and ultimately signed with the White Sox, who helped inspire him to enter rehab in 2015.
“I knew if I was going to get back into baseball, I needed to get myself right,” said Delmonico. “I dug down deep. Not only did I learn about the medicine and what it was doing to me, but I had to figure out what was going on in my life and get back to being myself.
“They told me don’t worry about baseball, just take care of yourself first,” he added about the White Sox. “They gave me the faith to know that baseball would be here when I got back.”
The 25-year-old third baseman has since become something of an overnight sensation for the team, batting .326/.434/.614 with six homers and 12 RBIs in just 20 games since getting called up at the beginning of the month. His is a battle we have seen a number of MLB players fight in recent years, and it’s a huge credit to Delmonico for overcoming his demons to get to this point.
Image via Nicky Delmonico on Instagram
H/T HardballTalk
