by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–I covered Josh Hamilton since he first put the Los Angeles Angels uniform on, and signed a $125 million contract for 5 years. There was no secret Arturo Moreno the Angels owners was more than disappointed by Hamilton’s behavior, that of re-lapsing into the use of recreational drugs. Hamilton is now back with the team he enjoyed his most success, the team which he won an MVP, the team which he played in two World Series. The city of Arlington and the fans he likes.

The Josh Hamilton situation goes further than baseball and hitting or not hitting. In 2014 Hamilton hit all his ten home runs with the Angels and 28 of his total of 44 runs batted in, on the road, not at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. He never was the “real” Josh Hamilton with the Los Angeles Angels.

Hamilton never really enjoyed any affinity with the Angels fans. Angels pitcher C.J Wilson was one of his best friends with the Angels, and said, that “this would not have happened if Josh would have performed with the Angels”. That could be true, but the truth is that Hamilton is an addict, he is now going through a divorce, his home in Newport Beach is on the market for sale for $13 million.

Sometimes baseball is the best therapy for somebody with Josh Hamilton’s off the field problems, but some other times that is not enough and the end could not very very pretty. Hamilton turned himself in, last time he used drugs, that means he is crying for help. A reasonable person would think a man of Hamilton’s economic resources could easily walk into a drug rehabilitation center and try to cure himself.
There is one person that could help Josh Hamilton, and that is Josh Hamilton.

The Oakland Athletics host the Angels starting tonight for a three game series at Oakland. Last week the two western division rivals split the four game series. Now playing left field for the Angels, (the position that Hamilton played)is Matt Joyce, who was acquired by the Angels in the off season from the Tampa Bay Rays.

When the Angels face a left handed pitcher, Mike Scioscia then uses Collin Cowgill. A healthy of ‘mind and soul’ Josh Hamilton is no comparison to those two players. So the Angels will not turn the page and try to concentrate on the field with the team they are going to have the rest of the season.

It was really a fantasy when the Angels signed Hamilton. And that fantasy was a line-up of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, three MVP’S batting in the middle of that lineup, but that never materialized and Angels fans could only dream, about those three hot at the plate at the same time.
Good luck Josh Hamilton, I hope your life in the future consist more of peace with yourself,and finding a cure for your addiction, than just hitting home runs and driving runs.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Angels Spanish TV voice and the A’s Radio Spanish voice and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com