This picture is all I need to see
Hugs, smiling, and interactive Twitter accounts, don't mean winning baseball. Until this community understands that we are cursed to relive the madness.
Hamilton will stop being an addict the day his heart stops forever. It is what it is. there is no such thing as an ex-addict.
And we are talking hard stuff here. Hamilton is the very definition of "no prior comp". There has never been an athlete of his stature that became addicted to drugs the way he is and returned to a high level of play. Doctors don't even know what that drug use has done to his body. Hamilton's baseball track record prior to the trade was one half MLB season, and nothing above High A in the minors. We all know this. 2007 could have been a fluke and the Reds needed pitching. Volquez warts were more tangible. High K rate, but lacking control. That's something scouts and coaches see as "fixable".
Crack addiction, not so much.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
Doesn't mean much. I've seen some of our guys in similar pictures.
Just because Hamilton had a setback with his personal demon of alcohol and posed for some funny pictures does not necessarily mean he's back to the depths of his one time troubles.
Media, primarily internet blogs; made a large deal out of these Hamilton pictures. The incident was no more than him having a few drinks and posing for some pictures in good fun with some fans.
2009 Attendance Record: 3-5 2010 Attendance Record: 2-9 2015 Attendance Record: 2-0
2011 Attendance Record: 3-4 2012 Attendance Record: 3-4
2013 Attendance Record: 5-2 2014 Attendance Record: 3-1
Another reason.... Josh Hamilton did not participate in the Rangers celebration after they clinched because of the alcohol. It is that serious.
What if Edinson and his wife want to have a second child?
There is risk that is involved with Hamilton. Every addict has a lifelong struggle ahead of them. But there are people who beat addiction. There are people who are successful for the rest of their lives at avoiding addiction. There have been no studies about the destructive nature of abuse 5 years down the road. To suggest that there haven't been addicts playing sports is naive. IIRC Lawrence Taylor admitted that he played the majority of his games high. Mickey Mantle was a functioning alcoholic during his HOF days with the Yankees. There is nothing there to say that Hamilton will stay clean for the rest of his life, but there is also nothing there to suggest that he won't stay clean. IMO he is a generational type of talent, you take that risk and get him the best support system available.
That is a very ignorant view to hold. To suggest that no one overcomes an addiction is a slap in the face to thousands and millions of people that have and do overcome their demons. Drunks, druggies, sexual deviants, it can and does happen. Every day it happens. Is it the exception? Probably. But a person that is devoted and disciplined and committed to making it work can do so.
I've seen it and I'm sure if you really want to allow yourself to admit it, you have too.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
I don't understand criticizing a guy for keeping him out of situations that could be tempting. Seems like we should be applauding him for that. It's unfortunate in the aforementioned circumstances, but we should still be applauding him for keeping away from temptation. That's the surest way to recovery.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
My sister is an addict.
My mother is an addict.
My brother is an alcoholic, as is my uncle. All this runs in my family to such a degree that I never drink. It scares me that much. In the last 10 years I don't believe I have had a full six pack of beer. I won't even go near anything harder.
It isn't ignorant at all. Hamilton himself would tell you he's an addict until he dies even if he never takes another drug. My wife quit smoking for 6 years. She started again last year. Addiction can be managed but never cured. that's the nature of addiction.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
Sure it can be cured. If you stay away from it and stop abusing it, then you've stopped becoming an addict. People do it all the time. No one says it's easy. Certainly the temptation may not go away. But doing it and being tempted to do it are very different. We are all constantly tempted by something in life. We're all addicts. Some of us control our vices, others don't. It's the resistance or lack thereof that separate the addicts from the abusers.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
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