Comments on: Josh Hamilton spotted drinking alcohol at DFW bar

By: Hands Four

Hands Four — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:29:15 +0000

I’ll try to formulate my thoughts more when I have more time, but for now I want to apologize for my snotty tone.

By: davidpom50

davidpom50 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:24:16 +0000

There definitely wasn’t cocaine involved. The next day, Josh insisted on getting tested (he’d blacked out and wasn’t sure exactly what he’d done), and everything came back clean.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:05:58 +0000

He’s an addict who is an ambassador in a business that relies quite heavily on public relations and appearances by role models—like it or not, they are and always will be.

He also is a human being who apparently is in crisis and maybe could do with some support.

So, yes, there is a story here.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:58:43 +0000

Hmm…let’s see who might possibly care…his wife and family…his friends…his sponsor…oh yeah, possibly his employer…major league baseball with its substance abuse policy…his agent…maybe even Conor Stone….

Quite probably more people, but I think you get the point.

By: agelardi

agelardi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:31:26 +0000

Be strong Josh & good luck.

By: dirkified

dirkified — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:12:06 +0000

SHerlocks, shame on you… as a local pub you know whats up with him. They should have denied him service.. I would have..

By: rooney24

rooney24 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:59:59 +0000

My concern for Josh is what will happen when his playing days are over. He obviously struggles with his addictions. While some recovering drug addicts may be able to drink alcohol and not have a problem, he obviously is not one of them. But, right now he has millions of reasons to not relapse, yet still struggles. What happens when he is no longer earning that MLB paycheck? What happens when he no longer has a team appointed handler/sobriety coach to watch him on the road trips? I have no doubt that he will weather this little blip on the radar and get back on course. But, I worry for the guy when his playing days are done. Best of luck, Josh! One day at a time.

By: purnellmeagrejr

purnellmeagrejr — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:57:08 +0000

THe “one size fits all” AA approach is seems to work for some people. Never made sense to me. ALcohol cost me my first marriage. Ex-wife would’t shut up about ther AA struff and I dumped her.

By: baseballisboring

baseballisboring — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:56:50 +0000

If only ignorance and shallow minded-ness were curable…

By: stinkfist5

stinkfist5 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:25:22 +0000

miketreedy… It’s not a disease, it’s a weakness. No sympathy. He seems like a good dude, but he needs to toughen up and have some discipline, in my opinion. All addiction is curable, all you need is a little brain power.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:25:09 +0000

While in active addiction, I have found growth to be impossible. Furthermore, it depends on what you do about it. People shouldn’t be demeaned or degraded after a relapse but there needs to be an introspective look at what happened.

By: drmonkeyarmy

drmonkeyarmy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:21:08 +0000

Not every obviously. But when you that or a similar scenario play out enough times, one can pretty much have a decent guess on what the outcome will be. Of course everybody is different, but alcoholism and drug addiction leads everybody to the same place. One notion that tends to keep people sick is that of terminal uniqueness. You know, where somebody thinks that nobody could have possibly experienced what they did, that these people know nothing about me. But like I said, whether it be drugs or alcohol, you end up in the same place spiritually and emotionally. I don’t get your hostility and implied AA bashing.

By: stercuilus65

stercuilus65 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:10:24 +0000

Have another drink loser and be sure to blame your “disease”. You’re not in our prayers and thank you for your service…

By: cleonslamminsalmon

cleonslamminsalmon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:10:22 +0000

So the guy likes to get weird drunk, who cares?

By: phillyphreak

phillyphreak — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:29:12 +0000

@Hands

Could you please enlighten us then? One drink or one snippet of drugs is enough to send a recovering (key work: recovering- not recovered, not former) drug addict back into a downward spiral. Remember he almost lost his career to drugs and alcohol.

By: neelyisgod

neelyisgod — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:10:31 +0000

He is of legal drinking age so no real story here.

By: Hands Four

Hands Four — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:14:10 +0000

thank you for this perspective. I’ve always found the “you relapsed! your Sobriety is gone! you’re back to zero!” line of thinking to be reductive and indeed counterproductive. Growth is *not* linear; a “relapse” does *not* negate the progress that came before.

By: Hands Four

Hands Four — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:04:11 +0000

step down from the soapbox, please. Somehow you know exactly what every alcoholic/addict’s life and experiences are like? Put down the Big Book of cliches and open your mind.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:28:38 +0000

Not when he has a history of problems which cost him several years in baseball, when he was highly touted as the next big thing. He suffered a relapse a couple years back, just when he was getting his career going again. And now this (potentially)—the year before he’s a free agent, too. I would consider “cringe-worthy” to be an appropriate term.

By: miketreedy

miketreedy — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:03:57 +0000

Here is a quote from Hamilton after his last relapse in 2009. I think he answers the question on his limit.

“It just crossed my mind that night, ‘Can I have a drink?’ Obviously I can’t and this reinforces that. Since that night, I have not had another thought like that. I know it’s something I shouldn’t do because it leads to other things.”

Stay strong Josh. Lots of people struggle with this disease. You have beaten the demons before and will again now. Its not the winning every battle that matters its winning the war. We are keeping you in our prayers. God bless….

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:55:34 +0000

You got that right.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:54:49 +0000

I sure hope that it isn’t as bad as it looks. Good luck to Josh and the Hamilton family. You’ll need it. The whole situation’s got to be taxing on their familial relationships.

That said, the number of comments on here talking about one drink not being a big deal is absolutely ludicrous. When you’re an addict—and you are never a “former” addict, since you will always be in recovery—one drink could be catastrophic to that recovery. That one drink could bring about a whole host of problems with your entire life, both home and career. I hope to Josh’s and my God that those people are not saying these things to addicts in their lives.

Maybe after PFT’s fluff week, those jacka$$es will crawl back under their ignorant rocks.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:45:47 +0000

Yeah, damning evidence that the two are related right there. Right on.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:38:52 +0000

Um…anybody over the age of 21 is free to consume alcohol, provided they have not been banned by the law. “Former” drug addicts are much more likely to slide back into that addiction with the assistance of alcohol. So, yes, they can. But whether they should? Probably not…but that’s their business.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:34:51 +0000

Radar OReilly reference. Well played, Seisenta.

Good luck to Josh and his family.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:33:35 +0000

And yet you still clicked on the story, may have read a few words of the story, clicked to comment, formed that rant of yours into something resembling—though looks can be deceiving—a cohesive statement, and clicked the post comment button. Good for you.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:33:20 +0000

Be strong Josh, I am pulling for you.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:30:18 +0000

My guess is it has a lot to do with fluff week over at PFT.

By: crpls

crpls — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:24:14 +0000

IIRC he doesn’t have a buddy since they decided his Dad may not be a good choice.

By: randygnyc

randygnyc — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:04:50 +0000

Some “buddy” is getting fired.