April 03--An arbitrator determined that Josh Hamilton's substance-abuse relapse did not violate Major League Baseball's drug treatment plan, and the Angels outfielder will not be suspended.
The announcement from MLB on Friday came more than a month after The Times first reported that Hamilton met with MLB officials in New York on Feb. 25 for a disciplinary issue. It was later learned that Hamilton had self-reported his use of cocaine and alcohol to MLB.
Hamilton, 33, was not in camp with the Angels this spring, and he was not issued a locker in the team's Tempe Diablo Stadium clubhouse in Arizona. The Angels granted him permission to rehabilitate from Feb. 4 surgery on his right shoulder in Houston, and Hamilton is not expected to return until May at the earliest.
If a strongly worded statement from General Manager Jerry Dipoto is any indication, the Angels will not be waiting for Hamilton with open arms.
"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," Dipoto said. "We are going to do everything possible to assure he receives proper help for himself and for the well-being of his family."
Added Angels President John Carpino: "It defies logic that Josh's reported behavior is not a violation of his drug program."
The Angels are coming off a 2014 season in which they went a major league-best 98-64 and won the American League West title before getting swept by Kansas City in the first round of their playoffs.
Their aspirations for 2015 are even higher, and how they handle Hamilton's return and the attention surrounding it could affect them on and off the field.
"Everybody in here is an adult -- we all know how to handle these types of situations," said Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson, a teammate of Hamilton's in Texas. "Really, honestly, it's the media that's the distraction, not the player. In very rare instances, the player is a distraction. Josh is not a distraction by himself, but the questions we have to answer about him could be somewhat distracting."
Commissioner Rob Manfred also disagreed with the arbitrator's ruling, with a statement issued by MLB stating that the commissioner's office "will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under the program in the collective bargaining process."
Under baseball's joint drug prevention and treatment program, the issue of whether Hamilton violated his treatment program was submitted to a treatment board, which is made up of two attorneys and two physicians--one of each appointed by the commissioner's office and the players' union.
The panel first determines whether a player has violated MLB's drug policy, then decides a course of treatment and if the player should be penalized. The board deadlocked on whether Hamilton had violated the policy, and an arbitrator was appointed to break the tie.
"The arbitrator ruled that Hamilton's conduct did not violate his treatment program," MLB said in a statement. "As a result of the decision, the Office of the Commissioner is not permitted to suspend or impose any discipline on Hamilton."
A player can be found to have violated a treatment program if he does not cooperate with the requirements of the program or tests positive for a drug of abuse. The policy is silent on whether a player can be judged to have violated a treatment program if he reports a relapse, as Hamilton did.
The policy also empowers the treatment board to consider the player's test history, his evaluation by medical progressionals, and his willingness to consider "additional treatment options, such as inpatient therapy."
The gist of the ruling, according to a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to comment on it, is that the arbitrator believed Hamilton's behavior was more of a "slip" than a violation.
The union declined to further comment, but a person familiar with its position said the union was "pretty adamant that there was no violation."
Hamilton, who will make $25 milion this season, is known to have failed at least six drug tests as a Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer more than a decade ago, and he was suspended from the game from 2004-2006.
He survived a harrowing addiction to cocaine and alcohol to become a five-time All-Star with the Texas Rangers but has struggled since signing a five-year, $125-million contract with the Angels, hitting .255 with 31 homers, 123 runs batted in and 266 strikeouts in two seasons marked by injury and underachievement.
This is Hamilton's third known relapse as a major leaguer. His first two, in 2009 and 2012 while he played for the Rangers, involved alcohol. This setback further clouds a career that has been in steep decline since 2013.
The Angels were hoping a bounce-back year from Hamilton, who hit cleanup for most of his two years in Anaheim, would ease the loss of second baseman and September cleanup batter Howie Kendrick, who was traded to the Dodgers in December.
Hamilton's injury has opened the door for the left-handed-hitting Matt Joyce, a 2011 All-Star who was acquired from Tampa Bay over the winter, and right-handed-hitting Collin Cowgill to share left field and for Joyce and second-year slugger C.J. Cron to share designated hitter duties.
"It's so difficult for me because I've never been addicted to something, and I don't know the grip it can have on you," Joyce said. "I don't know Josh's situation. It's tough to talk about anybody if you've never walked in their shoes."
Hamilton, the first overall pick of the 1999 draft, was on the Rays' 40-man roster when he failed his first drug test in 2003 but was subsequently outrighted off the roster.
It is unclear how many of his past transgressions were considered violations of the major league joint drug agreement, but he has not failed a drug test since his reinstatement.
Suspensions for players who fail to fulfill terms of a drug-treatment program range from 15 to 25 games for an initial violation, 25-50 games for a second violation, 50 to 75 games for a third violation, at least one year for a fourth violation and commissioner's discretion for any subsequent violations.
One condition of Hamilton's reinstatement in 2006 was that he be tested for drugs three times a week. For most of the past eight seasons, Hamilton has also traveled with an "accountability partner" whose primary job is to help Hamilton resist the temptations that could derail his career and embarrass his employers.
Hamilton down-sized the role of his accountability partner in 2014, flying a friend from his church in Texas to road games and hiring another family friend to accompany him to games at Texas and Houston. It is not clear if Hamilton has lined up accountability partners for 2015.
Staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this story.
mike.digiovanna@latimes.com
UPDATE
11:30 a.m.: This post has been updated throughout.
9:57 a.m.: This post has been updated with a statement from the Angels.
This post was originally published at 9:42 a.m.
