Justice

In February, Angels’ outfielder Josh Hamilton admitted in public that he’d had a relapse.  Hamilton suffers the double curse of cocaine and alcohol addictions so bad they nearly derailed his career.  Even after he’d cleaned himself up with the Rangers, Hamilton twice fell off the wagon, as they used to say, but neither episode led to a full-on relapse.

Yesterday, an arbitrator ruled that Hamilton would not be subject to suspension.  The five-time All-Star is still following his treatment program, which appears to have carried a lot of weight with the arbitrator.  “Oops” must have trumped binge, to the benefit of Hamilton.

Only the Angels wish it hadn’t.  The team said in a statement it was “disappointed” in Hamilton, who has pretty much been a bust two years into a five-year $125 million contract.  Gosh, who held a gun to their heads to sign a 32-year old player with a history of addiction?  Really, you get what you pay for in life, and sports.