Recently, a third party arbitrator decided that Major League Baseball should not be able to punish Josh Hamilton for coming forward about a recent relapse.
This is an unusual ruling, as drug abuse, whether admitted or caught, should be treated and punished the same.
The Angels have expressed anger over the decision, and owner Arte Moreno has not guaranteed that Hamilton will ever play for the Angels again. Whether or not that is allowed to happen without paying Hamilton the $83 million that they owe him is quite the debate. However, one thing is sure: Moreno wants Hamilton out and wants to leverage his relapse against him.
“We have a contract with Hamilton, and in that contract, there’s specific language that he signed, and his agents approved, that said he cannot drink and use drugs,” Moreno said when asked last week at the Angels home opener. (via: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/117520616/arte-moreno-josh-hamiltons-contract-gives-club-recourse)
A contract is a contract, but the details of the Angels contract language with Hamilton have not emerged, leading many to believe Moreno was indirectly speaking out on what he wishes he could do with Hamilton.
It’s no secret Hamilton has not lived up to what the Angels thought they were getting when they signed him, but does that give the Angels the right to kick him while he’s down and use his recent relapse as a cop-out?
It would have been acceptable if Moreno said “We won’t guarantee we’ll have Hamilton back, because he’s not the Josh Hamilton on the field that we thought we were signing.” But what if he was?
Even Angels starting pitcher C.J. Wilson has asked the question, would Moreno be against Hamilton even if he was putting up MVP numbers? ( via: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/11/c-j-wilson-critical-of-angels-over-josh-hamilton-situation/)
What’s going on with Josh Hamilton is bigger than baseball. Josh Hamilton the human being goes to war with addiction every day. His battle against addiction has been well documented as Hamilton has bounced back in ways most people who suffer from it don’t. However, to Moreno, it’s now a golden ticket to try to cut Hamilton loose.
Some will argue that the Angels are smart to try to play the relapse against Hamilton. Why pay Hamilton that kind of money if he didn’t live up to it?
However, did Hamilton do anything to harm the team directly? Did he knowingly inject a steroid into his body in order to cheat and get ahead of others in the game? As far as we know: no.
Also, what is a relapse? If you’re a sobering addict, it’s as simple going to back to drugs or alcohol once. Whether or not it’s a continuous thing or a one time thing, it’s still a relapse. If it’s a one time thing, and wasn’t done while Hamilton was in the regular season, should Hamilton be punished and kicked off the team for that? What about the other players who abuse drugs and alcohol that we don’t know about because they haven’t been caught? Would they get the same treatment?
Angels owner Arte Moreno already has a proven track record of being controversial, and going to war with Hamilton is a battle he should avoid.
Moreno’s first bout of controversy took place after he bought the team in 2003, and shortly after in 2005, wanted to change the name of the team from the “Anaheim Angels” to the “Los Angeles Angels”. The city of Anaheim sued Moreno and the Angels, which ultimately forced them to add “of Anaheim” to the “Los Angeles Angels” name.
Fans in Anaheim were rubbed wrong way by this. Many Angels fans who reside in Anaheim, don’t want to be associated with Los Angeles in any way. They would prefer the team still be called the “California Angels”, if it came down to that over the name being the “Los Angeles Angels”.
It’s been nearly ten years since that mess, and most fans have learned to deal with the slight name change. The Angels have Albert Pujols (another guy who some may say hasn’t lived up to his deal either), Mike Trout, and a really fun team to watch on the field that has a good chance to contend in the AL West.
So my question is: Why Moreno? Why potentially anger fans of baseball, recovering addicts who may buy tickets to your games, and even players on your team, by trying to take advantage of a guy who is on the ground? Why drag your team through the mud of this controversy, and put your players in a position where they have to deal with this distraction on a nightly basis when reporters ask them to comment on Hamilton?
Hamilton didn’t kill anyone like Aaron Hernandez. He didn’t knock out his wife like Ray Rice. He hasn’t tried to cheat the game with steroids (as far as we know). Hamilton has not been caught driving a vehicle under the influence and putting others at risk.
Restructure his deal, trade him to someone who will give him a chance, bench him and pay him to not play, but don’t try to take advantage of a person who is struggling with addiction, especially when you know what you were getting into.
Instead, try to be the owner and the team that says, “We want Josh Hamilton back. We want him in our clubhouse. We want him away from those things that can cause him to relapse. We don’t care about Josh Hamilton the baseball player as much as we care about Josh Hamilton the person.”
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
