Hamilton Apologizes for Alcohol Relapse - East Idaho News
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Hamilton Apologizes for Alcohol Relapse

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Getty S 2312 Josh%20Hamilton?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1328302747301Ezra Shaw/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton’s battle with alcohol took a turn for the worse Monday night at a bar in the Dallas area. Hamilton admitted to having some drinks, causing him to relapse for the first time since 2009. Hamilton added that no drugs were present, and it was strictly a alcohol-related incident.

Hamilton was the number one overall selection in the 1999 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but struggled with drugs and alcohol and was eventually banned from baseball back in 2003 as a result. He was reinstated back in 2006, and made his Major League comeback in 2007 with the Cincinnati Reds.

“It was just wrong. That’s all it comes down to,” Hamilton said in a press conference on Friday. “I needed to be at a different place. I needed to be responsible. I was not responsible. Those actions of mine have hurt a lot of people I’m very close to.”

The Rangers and Hamilton are still in the process of finding him a new “accountability partner” after Johnny Narron left the club to become the Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach.

Hamilton’s future with the team is also uncertain as his contract is up at the end of the 2012 season. In his press conference, Hamilton said his negotiations with the team on a new deal will go on the back burner.

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