By Stephen Borelli, USA TODAY
Updated 11m ago
By LM Otero, AP
"I cannot take a break from my recovery," Hamilton said at a news conference in Arlington, Texas. "For everybody that I have hurt, for fans, kids, people who have addictions who look up to me, I apologize to you. When you're doing things … you don't mean to hurt anybody.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way. It would have been nice if we were talking about a contract, but we'll put that on the back burner for a while."
Hamilton said he had a "weak moment" Monday for "personal reasons" with a family member. He said he had 3-4 drinks at a bar, then called teammate Ian Kinsler.
"Once I do drink, I can be very deceptive, very sneaky in a lot of ways," he said. "Ian did know I had been drinking."
Hamilton said he chatted with Kinsler for 25-30 minutes, and Kinsler dropped him off. He said Kinsler asked him if he was going out again, and he replied he wasn't. But he then went back out to place he was before and had a few more drinks.
"No drugs were used," said Hamilton, a former No. 1 overall draft pick by the Rays whose early career was derailed by drug and alcohol addiction. "I've had two drug tests since Monday, so I have no concerns there at all."
Hamilton was suspended for drug and alcohol use while in the Tampa Bay organization, missing the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
This is at least Hamilton's second lapse in his rehab. In 2009, he was photographed drinking at a bar in Arizona.
"Things happened with me personally that I'm not proud of after I drink. They are personal and are being handled as that," he said of Monday's incident. "I did take pictures with people and it was … it was just wrong. That's all it comes down to. I needed to be responsible and I was not responsible. Those actions are mine and they hurt a lot of people that are close to me."
Hamilton said he will be heading to New York soon just to meet with "the doctors on the major league side ... and talk to them about what happened."
He said he will do everything he can to take "all the steps necessary, whatever the steps can be," such as counseling.
Hamilton has had an accountability partner to support him in his recovery in the past, but he doesn't have one at the moment. The job was previously held by Rangers coach Johnny Narron, but Narron left this offseason to become the Brewers' hitting coach.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the team was close to hiring someone to support Hamilton and an announcement could come next week.
"Anytime something like this happens, you want to revisit things, see where you went wrong and let everybody who's helped you in the past really help you," said Hamilton, who sat alone at the news conference. "I've beat myself up for the last four days … Nobody feels worse than I do."
Hamilton spoke freely without a prepared statement but didn't take questions from the news media.
"You guys know how hard I work on the field," he said. "When I don't do that off the field, I leave myself open for a weak moment. I had a weak moment Monday night in Dallas.
"Everybody can't be fine all the time. It's OK to show weakness."
See photos of: Texas Rangers, Josh Hamilton
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