Josh Hamilton didn’t get suspended and that’s the best thing for him
The news wasn’t what most people expected: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton won’t be suspended by MLB after six weeks of mystery about what would happen because of his reported relapse with drugs and alcohol.
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Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan gave us the particulars: after the commissioner’s office and the player’s union deadlocked about whether to discipline Hamilton, an independent arbitrator stepped in and made the call. Writes Passan:
Hamilton’s case hinged on what constituted a violation of the program. The failure to comply with a drug-treatment program – which Hamilton has been in for nearly a decade following long battles with cocaine and alcohol – was not undone by Hamilton’s episode, the arbitrator ruled.
In other words: Hamilton’s “relapse” was a slip-up that did not merit punishment. But as Passan reports, Hamilton failed a drug test, which makes the verdict more of a head-scratcher. The commissioner’s office wasn’t pleased by the decision, most likely because it makes the drug-testing policy look weak, and vowed to “address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under the Program in the collective bargaining process.”
We can’t say that leniency for Hamilton was the right call under baseball’s rules, but we can say it’s the best outcome for Hamilton, the human being. And not because he’s allowed to return to the field and make the $23 million he’s due from the Angels this season.
This is best for Hamilton because sending him away and punishing him isn’t going to help him heal. If anything, a yearlong suspension or a 50-game suspension could have made things worse.
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We’re talking about a man who rebounded from a very low place — a No. 1 draft pick suspended out of baseball because of drug abuse — to become a hero. He cleaned himself up and became the AL MVP. He was a star in the league, an example that second chances are worthwhile and necessary, an inspiration for people whose own demons overshadow their talent.
We’re talking about a man who saw himself losing that MVP luster, who had two rough years since signing a $125 million deal with the Angels, who was booed by Angels fans the last time he was on a field, because of his 0-for-13 performance in the 2014 postseason.
We weren’t with Hamilton when he relapsed. We don’t know what his motivations were, we don’t know which weaknesses cripples him. But we have to imagine two seasons of disappointment at his job didn’t help. The boos didn’t help. The uncertainty, the frustration didn’t help.
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Now comes the hard part — rebuilding Josh Hamilton. And this isn’t about raising his batting average or getting him back on the field after the offseason shoulder surgery that, relapse aside, would have kept him off the field until May anyway. It’s about rebuilding his own strength and willpower.
Baseball will give him structure, it will keep him busy. He might not play right away, but he’ll have a regimen and things to do, places to be and people to keep him accountable. Sending him off in A-Rod-like exile would just leave Hamilton with more free time to wrestle with his demons.
Sure, a suspension would have been the best move to make MLB’s drug policies look tough, but it isn’t the best way to help Josh Hamilton — the man, the husband, the father — fix his life.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
