The other day when I heard that Josh Hamilton admitted to having a relapse of sobriety back in January, I was temporarily disappointed.  Then, I felt bad for the guy.  I understand why it is "big" news to some people, but honestly, it really isn't that big in the grand scheme of things.

I love underdog stories and stories of redemption.  They make me feel that anyone can shine at any given moment and you can always come back no matter how hard, how dark, or how long the road has been.  Josh Hamilton is one of those redemption stories for me, as he has been for most people.

I can remember when Tampa Bay was deciding between Josh Hamilton and Josh Beckett with the first pick in the draft.  I had read all of these amazing things about Hamilton in the papers, because my Mom and my Stepdad had been living in St. Pete for some time and when I visited them, I read up on a lot of their area sports.  Mom would send me the sports sections with articles she thought I might like when I was back home, so I kept a pretty steady tab on Hamilton.  The more I read about the kid, the more it seemed like people were making stuff up.  He hit the ball how far?  He can throw it how fast?  It just didn't seem possible to me to be that good.  But all of the reports were true. 

After the draft and all of the issues with his drug and alcohol addiction, I soon forgot about Hamilton, because it seemed as though he had crapped out on his last shot.  We all know the story of his comeback, so I will spare the details, but the one thing that stood out to me in his journey back, was that everyone was rooting for this guy.  It was such a great story that was unfolding in front of us and we all wanted to be a part of the ride.  Can you imagine the pressure Hamilton must have felt?  Sure everyone loved him when he was drafted and then he had his problems and people didn't want to touch him for fear of being associated with him and his addictions.  So now, Hamilton is back on top and everyone loves him again. 

I understand what it is like to see someone struggle with alcohol and I understand the pressure that someone faces when they are "on the wagon."  It has to be so hard to deal with everyone constantly congradulating you on NOT doing something that it is always on your mind.  With the pressure and the constant thoughts, there has to be a breaking point.  Not everyone is going to go the rest of their life sober, it is too much to ask.  Going from one extreme to another is tough, even for a person that just drinks socially.  So, I wasn't surprised when I heard that Hamilton had a relapse.  It happens to good people all the time.

After the admission this past week, I was listening to a local radio station and one of the djs was talking about how Hamilton is a fraud and a phony, because of this whole incident.  I thought that was a very cold thing to say about someone he has probably never met and probably never will meet.  I also thought it was very hipocritical of him to judge Hamilton like that, when Hamilton admitted to it when it happened and then admitted to it again this past week.  I thought it was a very brave thing to come out and admit to whoever is listening that he failed.  I don't care what I fail at, I am probably not going to admit it to a room full of people, let alone on TV for anyone and everyone to see.

Hamilton has had his struggles and he has had his successes.  He'll continue to have both throughout the rest of his life.  I understand and I'm not mad at him.

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