Josh Hamilton not punished

[gunnarthor]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/116166112/no-penalties-for-josh-hamilton-arbitrator-rules

 

I'm actually happy about this and I hope he gets his life in order.  The arbitrator ruled that Hamilton's drug use didn't violate the agreement in place with MLB.  And it's also a nice reminder of how much stronger MLB player's union is over their NFL counterpart.  Good for baseball.

[gunnarthor]

Wow, it got worse. Angels are really hammering Hamilton - not even the Yankees attacked ARod this badly.  Rosenthal is strongly suggesting that all the leaks in this matter - which made Hamilton look really bad - came from the Angels in the hope that he'd either get kicked out of baseball or leave voluntarily.

 

http://deadspin.com/the-angels-dont-want-josh-hamilton-back-1695524055

[h2oface]

Good for the arbitrator. I also think this was the right decision. Hamilton turned himself in, and made a mistake that is not related to baseball or performance. The process played out, and an independent arbitrator made the ruling after considering all the legal elements of the agreements. 

[Thrylos]

This is akin to a player getting injured off the field while pursuing a risky activity.  

 

Nobody forced him to drink or do drugs.

 

The contract was signed in good faith that he was over his addiction.  I think that the Angels blew it not including language to void it in those circumstances.

 

Sorry.  Hard to feel sorry for millionaires who urinate their lives down the drain...

[Siehbiscuit]

This is akin to a player getting injured off the field while pursuing a risky activity.  

 

Nobody forced him to drink or do drugs.

 

The contract was signed in good faith that he was over his addiction.  I think that the Angels blew it not including language to void it in those circumstances.

 

Sorry.  Hard to feel sorry for millionaires who urinate their lives down the drain...

I agree with you that the Angels should have protected themselves, but I have a hard time believing that if he was performing at the MVP level he was at when he signed the deal that they Angels would be upset. He just avoided a very long potential suspension.

 

And in regards to feeling sorry for millionaires and their problems...

Millionaires are people too. Drug and alcohol addiction doesn't care what your checking account looks like or how big your house. Good for you that you don't have this struggle, but it's not a switch that these addicts can just be flipped. You sound incredibly ignorant when you make these types of comments. Hamilton has been fighting these demons since his teen years, over half of his life.

 

We should all hope he recovers, so maybe we can be blessed to watch him find himself one more time and more importantly his family can have their healthy husband and father back.

[gunnarthor]

 

 

Sorry.  Hard to feel sorry for millionaires who urinate their lives down the drain...

I'd rather root for Hamilton over ownership, every day of the week.

[Willihammer]

Hamilton "relapsed" in '05 after failing multiple tests in '03 and '04. MLB went easy on him calling him a first time offender. Then relapsed again in '09, and '12 and now again. In every instance MLB went easy on him. But maybe all that mercy isn't helping?

[h2oface]

I believe the crux of the decision is that Hamilton did not violate his treatment. Part of that is that if you relapse for a night..... that you come clean and confess voluntarily and that is what he did. He never hid it. He wasn't trying to cheat the game. He self reported and turned himself in, and according the the agreements, that does not violate his continuing treatment, which calls for doing what he did. There are so many people that abuse alcohol with no consequence at all.... in baseball and probably on this site. It really isn't much different, and they aren't even getting help and are in denial.

[PseudoSABR]

 

Hamilton "relapsed" in '05 after failing multiple tests in '03 and '04. MLB went easy on him calling him a first time offender. Then relapsed again in '09, and '12 and now again. In every instance MLB went easy on him. But maybe all that mercy isn't helping?

Or maybe it is? Relapses that are short in duration and separated by years make clear the struggle of addiction and the capacity for the addict to rise above that addiction whose draw is constant.   I'd be more inclined to agree with your presumption, if Hamilton had not come forward, or demonstrated behavior more than a discrete relapse.  However, the tough-on-addiction model is pretty foolhardy and divorced from the reality addicts face. 

[jimmer]

There were many on the baseball shows who questioned whether or not he came forward because he knew a positive test result was coming.

 

I'm torn on this because, besides the alcohol, drugs are illegal and if most of us came forward in our jobs we may get treated but then we'd also likely get fired (depending on your job) and maybe go to jail or get some kind of criminal record.  He's also on probation. He's had multiple issues with drugs and playing major league baseball isn't a right. People who employ these players should have some kind of recourse when the players they employ possibly affect their brand, whether they come forward on their own to self-report or not.

 

Of course, the Angels owner could have ulterior motives, financial ones, so there's that. If Josh was still an awesome player, would he have stood up for Josh?  I've always found it odd that players like Josh who supposedly overcome these demons are idolized more than people who never succumb to these things to begin with.  I get they are a better story and they may be inspirational to the people who fight with this, but still.  It's kind of strange.

[Mike Sixel]

A hard, but constructive, read:

 

http://theclassical.org/articles/broken-bat

 

[gunnarthor]

This got a lot worse.  Angels are claiming Hamilton violated their contract by relapsing.  But it's not about the money.  “It’s not about money, nothing about money,” Moreno said. 

 

The CBA and JDA seem to suggest that the Angels can't do that.  The MLB player's union released this statement: "“The MLBPA emphatically denies Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno’s assertions from earlier today that the Angels had requested and received the approval of the Union to insert language into Josh Hamilton’s contract that would supersede the provisions of the Joint Drug Agreement and/or the Basic Agreement. To the contrary, the collectively bargained provisions of the JDA and the Basic Agreement supersede all other player contract provisions and explicitly prevent Clubs from exactly the type of action Mr. Moreno alluded to in his press comments today.”"

 

Hamilton is owed 90m over the next three seasons and his contract pushes the Angels close to, or over, the luxury tax.  Basically, they are desperate to get rid of him. 

[gunnarthor]

I hadn't even noticed this but MLB will not be investigating the leaks in this case (which were almost certainly from the Angels).

 

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/09/major-league-baseball-will-not-look-into-the-angels-conduct-in-the-josh-hamilton-case/

[formerly33]

 

I agree with you that the Angels should have protected themselves, but I have a hard time believing that if he was performing at the MVP level he was at when he signed the deal that they Angels would be upset. He just avoided a very long potential suspension.

And in regards to feeling sorry for millionaires and their problems...
Millionaires are people too. Drug and alcohol addiction doesn't care what your checking account looks like or how big your house. Good for you that you don't have this struggle, but it's not a switch that these addicts can just be flipped. You sound incredibly ignorant when you make these types of comments. Hamilton has been fighting these demons since his teen years, over half of his life.

We should all hope he recovers, so maybe we can be blessed to watch him find himself one more time and more importantly his family can have their healthy husband and father back.

Well said. I'm tired of people bashing Hamilton over this, and I like your point about how the Angels are just trying to wriggle themselves out of the deal because he isn't doing as good as they thought he would. That's a total lack of class on their part, IMHO.

[Bark's Lounge]

Per T.R. Sullivan of mlb.com - it appears Mr. Hamilton is going to be moving from the town that Disney built back to his old stomping grounds of Arlington, TX.

 

It will be interesting to see the details of this trade and I expect a bounce back performance from Hamilton playing his home games in the hot Texas sun.

 

[Hrbowski]

 

Per T.R. Sullivan of mlb.com - it appears Mr. Hamilton is going to be moving from the town that Disney built back to his old stomping grounds of Arlington, TX.

 

It will be interesting to see the details of this trade and I expect a bounce back performance from Hamilton playing his home games in the hot Texas sun.

 

Good, I always liked him. Hopefully he will have a great finish to his career.