Beyond Grateful by Josh Hamilton

[WeaverFever]

59 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

The fact that Hamilton did voluntarily self report his relapse during the off season with a apology is a form of accountability. The FO viewed this as a opportunity to relieve themselves (partially)of a bad contract with a player who was injury prone and in decline. That strategy back fired on them when MLB declined to suspend him under the current drug program. 

The FO could of handled this differently by providing help for Hamilton and setting a example to the players and fans that the Angels do care for their own. I would bet money if Hamilton was putting up big offensive numbers ... the Angels would of gone that direction. 

We all know that drug addiction never ends for the addict. The Angels knew this but still rolled the dice. Both Hamilton and the Angels FO are accountable for a bad ending. Thank god this is now ancient history!

Amen 

[WeaverFever]

39 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

Sounds about right.

Torii was by far and away one of the coolest people this org ever had. Not just a great player, but a for real "good guy".

Killed me once the team started to slip from its decade of dominance that some on here made him the target. "Hes not a leader" was the most common.

The hamilton fiasco was a two fold disaster. Aside from the waste of money, we lost torii in the move. And not in a professional way.

Yeah, its a business. But we kind of shit on him in the end.

And amen 

[mulwin444]

F*ck you, Hamilton...

[Stradling]

But he’s an addict

[Claude]

10 minutes ago, calscuf said:

He is such a piece of shit.

Hamilton was such a lost soul who many times looked very disconnected from his teammates. He had an accountability partner that he decided was no longer needed. That was a huge mistake. 

[Blarg]

3 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

The fact that Hamilton did voluntarily self report his relapse during the off season with a apology is a form of accountability.

This is pure fiction.

[Troll Daddy]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

This is pure fiction.

That’s how it was reported ... did you hear differently 

[Troll Daddy]

3 hours ago, Stradling said:

But he’s an addict

Who knew 

[Glen]

21 hours ago, Stradling said:

I’m a fan of personal accountability 

Is there a jersey for that?

[Inside Pitch]

11 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

The FO could of handled this differently by providing help for Hamilton and setting a example to the players and fans that the Angels do care for their own. I would bet money if Hamilton was putting up big offensive numbers ... the Angels would of gone that direction. 

Differently like hiring his former accountability partner (Jerry Narron) as a minor league hitting instructor just so they could have him around for Hamilton after he let him go?  

People are forgetting that when he went directly to MLB, he had to answer to them and not the Angels -- it was MLB not the Angels drove the process and they felt so strongly about his actions that they chose to take Hamilton to court for the way he circumvented the drug program.  The sole reason he self reported was to avoid the test which would have resulted in a suspension and loss of money.   It was a chickenshit move driven by self interest.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/sports/baseball/josh-hamilton-wont-be-disciplined-under-baseball-drug-program.html

“The Office of the Commissioner disagrees with the decision,” M.L.B. said in a statement, “and will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under the Program in the collective bargaining process.”

BTW -- the Angels also commented when that went down..

"The Angels have serious concerns about Josh’s conduct, health and behavior and we are disappointed that he has broken an important commitment which he made to himself, his family, his teammates and our fans,” said the statement, from General Manager Jerry Dipoto. “We are going to do everything possible to assure he receives proper help for himself and for the well-being of his family.”

Everything that happened after that was driven by his agency and the media...  Thus was born the "Poor Joshie, he did the right thing and now he's being attacked" horseshit.

MLB re-wrote the entire thing as a result of the Hamilton fiasco.  http://www.mlb.com/pa/pdf/jda.pdf

A Player will be referred to the Treatment Board as a result of the use or suspected use of a Drug of Abuse. After a Player has tested positive for a Drug of Abuse for the first time, or is otherwise found to have used or possessed a Drug of Abuse, all subsequent positive test results for a Drug of Abuse, or other evidence of use or possession of a Drug of Abuse by the Player, will be referred to the Treatment Board for a determination whether the Player has complied with his Treatment Program and whether a new or revised Treatment Program is warranted

Players no longer have to actually test positive, and refusing to take a test when suspected of drug usage is now considered to have violated the policy..    All because of Josh Hamilton and his shady BS.

[tdawg87]

1 hour ago, Glen said:

Is there a jersey for that?

Yes

[eligrba]

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

Differently like hiring his former accountability partner (Jerry Narron) as a minor league hitting instructor just so they could have him around for Hamilton after he let him go?  

People are forgetting that when he went directly to MLB, he had to answer to them and not the Angels -- it was MLB not the Angels drove the process and they felt so strongly about his actions that they chose to take Hamilton to court for the way he circumvented the drug program.  The sole reason he self reported was to avoid the test which would have resulted in a suspension and loss of money.   It was a chickenshit move driven by self interest.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/04/sports/baseball/josh-hamilton-wont-be-disciplined-under-baseball-drug-program.html

“The Office of the Commissioner disagrees with the decision,” M.L.B. said in a statement, “and will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under the Program in the collective bargaining process.”

BTW -- the Angels also commented when that went down..

"The Angels have serious concerns about Josh’s conduct, health and behavior and we are disappointed that he has broken an important commitment which he made to himself, his family, his teammates and our fans,” said the statement, from General Manager Jerry Dipoto. “We are going to do everything possible to assure he receives proper help for himself and for the well-being of his family.”

Everything that happened after that was driven by his agency and the media...  Thus was born the "Poor Joshie, he did the right thing and now he's being attacked" horseshit.

MLB re-wrote the entire thing as a result of the Hamilton fiasco.  http://www.mlb.com/pa/pdf/jda.pdf

A Player will be referred to the Treatment Board as a result of the use or suspected use of a Drug of Abuse. After a Player has tested positive for a Drug of Abuse for the first time, or is otherwise found to have used or possessed a Drug of Abuse, all subsequent positive test results for a Drug of Abuse, or other evidence of use or possession of a Drug of Abuse by the Player, will be referred to the Treatment Board for a determination whether the Player has complied with his Treatment Program and whether a new or revised Treatment Program is warranted

Players no longer have to actually test positive, and refusing to take a test when suspected of drug usage is now considered to have violated the policy..    All because of Josh Hamilton and his shady BS.

This^^^^^^^^^^^

Good for you, Josh Hamilton.

[DCAngelsFan]

 

 

 

1

1 hour ago, Inside Pitch said:

(trimmed)

Players no longer have to actually test positive, and refusing to take a test when suspected of drug usage is now considered to have violated the policy..    All because of Josh Hamilton and his shady BS.

I first thought, well, he's not bright enough to have figured out how to use that then-loophole of self-reporting, that it was probably his agent or someone who gave him that advice.

Then I remembered what I've learned about addicts in life - they may have room-temperature IQ's but they're absolutely experts in finding that back door, the loop hole, blame-shifting, *some way* of avoiding personal responsibility.  

Not that it makes any difference whether he figured it out or someone told him about it - he knowingly did it to avoid punishment, and that speaks to his character - or lack thereof.

It was a stupid signing.  No matter his history, I just needed to look into his eyes to see he's a sick man and some kind of blow-up was inevitable.  

Just think, we could've drafted Aaron Judge with the pick we lost signing him...

 

[Kevin]

People who think Josh was noble during the drug incident make me think of this

 

 

[Blarg]

Blue eyes and a day game.

[Stradling]

8 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Blue eyes and a day game.

One of the best ever.  Much better than plate alignment. 

[Troll Daddy]

@Inside Pitch So you’re saying that Hamilton shouldn’t of voluntarily turned himself in to MLB? He should of just kept quiet and maybe nothing would be found out of his relapse. 

I think Josh’s agent definitely played a big part of his decision making. Josh was his biggest client and he stood to loose quite a lot. 

Our opinions of Josh are meaningless but it makes for good discussion. Josh’s intentions were good ..: but I was taught, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions “. 

[Blarg]

Josh's intentions were not good, they were self serving to avoid a suspension of pay. His actions caused a divorce. It caused the Angels to deal him to Texas and lose hundreds of millions of dollars on a player that decided on his own to give up. There is nothing noble about what that weasel did.

And Texas looks like the biggest douches in baseball glorifying a drug addict all because he had four good years for them in between relapses. 

 

[Troll Daddy]

5 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Josh's intentions were not good, they were self serving to avoid a suspension of pay. His actions caused a divorce. It caused the Angels to deal him to Texas and lose hundreds of millions of dollars on a player that decided on his own to give up. There is nothing noble about what that weasel did.

And Texas looks like the biggest douches in baseball glorifying a drug addict all because he had four good years for them in between relapses. 

 

Why should you or I care? It’s not our money ... we didn’t make the bonehead decision to sign him to that ridiculous contract when it was well known he was in decline and a professed drug addict. This whole Hamilton deal was just a bad ending waiting to happen. So he gets suspended and the Angels save some  money. 

What I don’t get is all the Pujols hate on this board. The guy is a model citizen and a team player. Which was another boneheaded decision by the FO. At least Pujols is giving a 100% on and off the field. Yet, fans will hate him if he doesn’t walk away from the $59M still owed to him. I shutter to think if Trout goes into early decline how long it will take for fans here to turn on him. 

[Stradling]

Hamilton had his second best OPS the year before the Angels signed him. 

[eligrba]

14 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Why should you or I care? It’s not our money ... we didn’t make the bonehead decision to sign him to that ridiculous contract when it was well known he was in decline and a professed drug addict. This whole Hamilton deal was just a bad ending waiting to happen. So he gets suspended and the Angels save some  money. 

What I don’t get is all the Pujols hate on this board. The guy is a model citizen and a team player. Which was another boneheaded decision by the FO. At least Pujols is giving a 100% on and off the field. Yet, fans will hate him if he doesn’t walk away from the $59M still owed to him. I shutter to think if Trout goes into early decline how long it will take for fans here to turn on him. 

We should all care because kids pay attention to how adults behave during times of moral crisis.  The right way is always available and obvious, but not the easiest or most beneficial. At the very least Hamilton should have accepted the standard suspension for substance abuse regardless of whether he was tested based simply on his admission.

Pujols' is criticized for his performance and not his character.

I agree that both contracts were mistakes.

I predict Trout at the end of his career will receive standing ovations at probably every ballpark. 

[mtangelsfan]

I don't hate the guy, I really didn't like what he did to our organization.  

If I never hear his name again I will be happy 

[Inside Pitch]

16 hours ago, Troll Daddy said:

@Inside Pitch So you’re saying that Hamilton shouldn’t of voluntarily turned himself in to MLB? He should of just kept quiet and maybe nothing would be found out of his relapse. 

I'm saying his only motivation was to protect his self interest.  That's it.

I don't know if he would have been caught, coke leaves the body pretty quickly, and I don't know if MLB takes hair samples (it stays in hair for up to a year), but there was a 100% chance he would have been penalized for testing positive...  So, he or his agent found a way to keep that from happening.

What I do know is Josh Hamilton showed his level of remorse for his actions when he stated point blank that "He knew what the deal was, he knew the risks, it is what it is", when speaking about the Angels and specifically Arte.  

I'll echo what @mtangelsfan, said.... I'll be happy to not hear about him anymore.

Edited August 19, 2019 by Inside Pitch

[ScottT]

I'm surprised this thread doesn't have any photos of his oldest daughter.

[tdawg87]

57 minutes ago, ScottT said:

I'm surprised this thread doesn't have any photos of his oldest daughter.

I know she isn't Josh's seed but I still feel like some of his gross, crusty, coke-infested Dad germs got all over her and I just can't masturbate to that.