Hamilton didn’t elaborate or give any real indication about what happened.
Hamilton was suspended for more than three years for drug and alcohol use while in the Tampa Bay organization. The former No. 1 overall draft pick missed the entire 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons, but has become one of the best players in baseball on a team that has won the last two American League pennants. He was the AL MVP in 2010.
The 30-year-old Hamilton said his latest actions “hurt a lot of people very close to me.’’ He closed his eyes at one point and seemed to force a smile another time. He didn’t take questions.
Without being specific, Hamilton said he had a “weak moment’’ that stemmed from “personal reasons’’ involving a family member. He said he walked to a restaurant to have dinner and ended up “ordering a drink, and probably had three or four drinks’’
Hamilton said he did not take any drugs, and had no thoughts of doing so. He said he has been tested for drugs twice since Monday, part of his normal mandated routine.
This is Hamilton’s second known alcohol-related relapse in three years. Both came during the offseason, and this one has put on hold talks with the Rangers about a contract extension.
In January 2009, he drank to excess in a bar in Tempe, Ariz. He apologized for that a few months later when a dozen or so pictures were posted online showing Hamilton taking shots off the bar, and dancing and hugging several young women. He said then that he had been sober since October 2005.
Hamilton and general manager Jon Daniels said the outfielder will meet soon with Major League Baseball doctors and counselors in New York for an evaluation in his continued recovery.
