Josh Hamilton Facing Undisclosed Disciplinary Action From MLB

Los Angeles Angels left fielder Josh Hamilton will meet Major League Baseball (MLB) officials about an undisclosed disciplinary issue on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Josh Hamilton is facing an undisclosed disciplinary issue. 

Hamilton, the Los Angeles Angels left fielder, met with Major League Baseball (MLB) officials on Wednesday, Feb. 25 to discuss the matter, per The Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna. Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto affirmed Hamilton’s presence in New York for the meeting, but did not go into further detail. 

He said,”I can say that Josh is going to meet with league officials in New York. At this point I have no other information to offer.”

DiGiovanna also tried to reach out to Hamilton’s agent Michael Moye and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney, but got no comment from either individual. 

Hamilton has an injured shoulder. The team is allowing him to recover from his Feb. 4 surgery at a friend’s ranch in Houston. DiGiovanna describes it as “an odd arrangement” because a majority of baseball players normally stay with their respective teams when they’re injured. 

Hamilton is expected to sit out until May. Should the league suspend him, he won’t be able to take the field until late June or July, per The Los Angeles Times. 

A Feb. 4 ESPN update says Hamilton should be able to resume baseball activities in three to eight weeks. His full recovery is slated at six to eight weeks. 

DiGiovanna notes Hamilton’s past four-year addiction to cocaine and alcohol which resulted in a two-year suspension from 2003 to 2005. However, he came back with a vengeance with his then-team, the Texas Rangers. Hamilton averaged 28 home runs and 101 RBIs from 2008 to 2012 with them while hitting .305. He won the American League MVP award in 2010 and earned stints in the World Series that year and the year after. 

Hamilton then inked a lucrative five-year, $125 million deal with the Angels in the summer of 2013 but has not lived up to expectations. He has hit .255 with just 25 home runs, 123 RBIs and 266 strikeouts in his two seasons in Los Angeles, per DiGiovanna.

Josh Hamilton might face disciplinary action from MLB. For … something.
http://t.co/7f0JaBNxlF pic.twitter.com/4ZP872Jrnx— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 25, 2015

According to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, the 33-year-old Hamilton underwent rehab for his shoulder, chest and ribcage in Sept. 2014.  This wasn’t of much help, as he went 0-for-13 in the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals. 

The pain in Hamilton’s shoulder lingered, prompting surgery on Feb. 4, per Gonzalez. 

Hamilton also missed more than seven weeks after he tore a ligament in his thumb when he slid headfirst into a base last spring. Either Matt Joyce or Collin Cowgill will replace the injured Hamilton at left field, per ESPN.

Back in December, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the Texas Rangers and San Diego Padres were interested in trading for Hamilton. Rosenthal said,”The talks were exloratory in nature; they did not gain traction, and the Angels did not contact Hamilton about waiving his no-trade clause.”

Dipoto refused to engage in any talks about trading Hamilton back then. He did tell Rosenthal the Angels still have faith in Hamilton:

“We do believe in Josh. We’ve seen it every day when he takes batting practice. We’ve seen him hit balls that humans shouldn’t hit. What he does, 99 percent of the players can’t do.

“We are absolutely of the belief that the ability is there for him to do the things that he has done in the past. Now we have to help him turn the key to bring the ability out.

“Unfortunately, that (the 0-for-13 showing against Kansas City) left a bad taste in people’s mouths. But Josh is a good guy. He has a very good way about him. He’s easy to like. There is no dysfunction between him and his teammates, him and his coaching staff, him and the manager.”

Hamilton has amassed 1,091 hits, 192 home runs and 676 RBIs on a .292 batting average in 977 career regular-season games for the Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels, per ESPN stats.  

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