So Hamilton goes on a bender and does some coke....but avoids any punishment because he called and admitted it before he pissed dirty.... Am I missing something?? As an addict im thinking once he discovers that is the way to avoid punishment... He going to try it again before long!!! What am i missing?

This definitely needed it's own thread. You're missing that he's still an above average baseball player that can still help sell tickets and win games.

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So Hamilton goes on a bender and does some coke....but avoids any punishment because he called and admitted it before he pissed dirty.... Am I missing something?? As an addict im thinking once he discovers that is the way to avoid punishment... He going to try it again before long!!! What am i missing?

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He didn't get punished because he didn't fail a drug test.

He didn't fail a drug test and then avoid punishment because he self reported.

Had he never self reported, nobody would be the wiser... unless pictures showed up.

The fact he reported should indicate that it was either going to be disclosed... or he felt bad about it.

The reality of where baseball is right now, IMO, is in a sad state.

30% +/- of players in MLB are getting an exception to use banned PEDs. I love that Chris Davis has an exception for Adderral, because he is on my FBB team. But as a fan, it is a terrible policy.

There is no way to craft a policy that does not allow for legitimate prescriptions such as adderall. Problem is, anyone can get that prescribed.

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There is no way to craft a policy that does not allow for legitimate prescriptions such as adderall. Problem is, anyone can get that prescribed.

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Having a legitimate prescription has never been the standard. David Segui was interviewed by ESPN where he indicated doctors wanted to give him hormone for a surgery, in which he was deficient. He said MLB indicated he had to make a choice to either take the hormone or risk testing positive. They would NOT give him a exemption, in order that he had surgery.

It was Pettitt's position that he used HGH to recover from injury.

Either they are banned or they aren't. No player should be granted permission, while someone else is denied.

You do realize part of the diagnosis for ADHD\ADD is observational. Where as, with Segui, he actually had a measurable difficiency in which doctors where not comfortable performing the surgery without giving him growth hormone.

If Davis has a condition like ADHD which requires a exemption from the PED policy of MLB in order to take medication for ADHD, he has the same choice Segui had. Play without it, or risk testing positive, as he did in 2014.

AFAIK, Segui chose to take the hormone, have the surgery and walk away from MLB.

Davis went:
.286 \ 53 HRs \ 1.004 OPS in 2013 with Adderral exception in 160 Gs.
.196 \ 26 HRs \ 0.704 OPS in 2014 without Adderal exception, testing positive for it (127G).
.269 \ 4 HRs \ 0.860 OPS in 2015 with Adderal exception, so far (18 G). That projects to 35 HRs for 160 Gs.

Based on when he started taking Adderall for 2015, he HR rate could very well increase. If he hits 40+ HRs, then I think there becomes no question he benefits.

No idea what any of that means.

If a player has a prescription for adderall or some PED (including high) there will always have to be a policy to allow those exceptions.

He is saying a guy needed a surgery, and to safely perform it he needed growth hormones. The league told him to either have the surgery and get a suspension, or dont have the surgery. thus the inconsistency.

I always thought Tiger was on Adderall or something similar. Wouldn't surprise me if so. The way it helps a person focus is definitely not normal.

I know what he was saying, I should have posted "I have no idea why you think that is making any point"

Segui retired in 2004. I don't recall that surgery story. but he "outed" himself as an HGH user 2 years later.


Saying the policy should be "either take your medication and quit, or don't take and be in the league" or "No player should be granted permission, while someone else is denied" is a fantasy. There will always be therapeutic use exceptions. Even for HGH. Now, it may be a hard hill to climb to qualify, but there has to be room for exception. Or you are going to get an ADA claim against you.

Back to cocaine.... If a player self reports after a nite of coke.... Then he is unpunishable by MLB drug policy??? Thats all im asking fellas????

If that's all that occurred, probably not.

But if you reported it right before your drug test, it wouldn't matter if you fail the test.

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Back to cocaine.... If a player self reports after a nite of coke.... Then he is unpunishable by MLB drug policy??? Thats all im asking fellas????

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You likely end up in rehab. You also likely put yourself in situation, as Josh had done, where he was subject to much more scrutiny in the drug testing process.

You seem to think it is a "Get out of trouble Free" card. It is not.

But at the end of the day... He coked up...told on himself.... And dodged suspension... Seems like a dangerous precedent for future cases.

its a safe bet that players aren't going to start admitting drug use.

MLB can only punish you if you fail a drug test given by them. He didn't get to avoid the test by self-reporting. Assuming they do random drug testing (I have no idea how they carry out their testing), he was simply lucky enough to not be selected to be tested following his drug use. I believe cocaine only stays in the body for about 3 days, so it's not hard to believe that he could have been passing tests even with multiple uses.

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MLB can only punish you if you fail a drug test given by them. He didn't get to avoid the test by self-reporting. Assuming they do random drug testing (I have no idea how they carry out their testing), he was simply lucky enough to not be selected to be tested following his drug use. I believe cocaine only stays in the body for about 3 days, so it's not hard to believe that he could have been passing tests even with multiple uses.

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If they test with hair (which I believe they do not), I believe not only can you test for Cocaine for 30 days... but alcohol, as well.

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MLB can only punish you if you fail a drug test given by them. He didn't get to avoid the test by self-reporting. Assuming they do random drug testing (I have no idea how they carry out their testing), he was simply lucky enough to not be selected to be tested following his drug use. I believe cocaine only stays in the body for about 3 days, so it's not hard to believe that he could have been passing tests even with multiple uses.

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This is not true.

You can be suspended if the Treatment Board determines a player has failed to comply with the terms of the treatment program. That does NOT require a failed drug test. For example, a player who does not attend meetings can be deemed to have failed to comply with the treatment program and be suspended.

Josh (might have) self-reported to the league office so he could (try to) make sure he wouldn't get reported by one of his "health care professionals" who, if they told MLB they thought Josh Hamilton wasn't cooperating with his treatment program, would probably have led to a suspension of Josh Hamilton.

Absent a release of an opinion from the arbitrator, we may never know exactly what happened and why Hamilton wasn't suspended. It could have been a failure of MLB to meet the terms of the drug agreement, it might have been judicial activism by the arbitrator. We don't know.

Not sure why he wasn't suspended. I can't imagine it was entirely due to the self-reporting aspect. I think the fact it had been 9 years since he last failed a test, that's he's never failed a test at the major league level, and that he didn't technically fail a test this time all came into play.

I still think he should have been suspended, but I also think there should be some sort of carrot for self-reporters, such as serving a shorter suspension or the suspension being with pay.