Josh Hamilton: Could Tragic Death of Fan Lead to Drug/Alcohol Relapse?

Josh Hamilton, the Texas Rangers superstar, who is currently grieving the tragic death of a fan who reached out to grab a foul ball he tossed into the stands, has already suffered more than his share woes and heartbreak.

Although he was the number one overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft of 1999, his ascension to the big leagues was sidetracked by injuries and drug addiction.

Not that long ago, there were nights I went to sleep in strange places praying I wouldn't wake up,” Hamilton once told a reporter for ESPN about his years in the drugs wilderness.

“After another night of bad decisions, I'd lie down with my heart speeding inside my chest like it was about to burst through my skin. My thinking was clouded, and my talent was one day closer to being totally wasted. I prayed to be spared another day of guilt and depression and addiction. I couldn't continue living the life of a crack addict, and I couldn't stop, either. It was a horrible downward spiral that I had to pull out of, or die. I lay there - in a hot and dirty trailer in the North Carolina countryside, in a stranger's house, in the cab of my pickup - and prayed the Lord would take me away from the nightmare my life had become.

However, he made an amazing and inspirational comeback by getting to the majors in 2007 and winning the 2010 American League MVP award – when his club, the Texas Rangers, appeared in the World Series for the first time ever.

But now, after one of the most inexplicable tragedies in Major League history, it may become tough for Hamilton to deal with.
Texas president Nolan Ryan said Hamilton is very distraught over the death.

Could Hamilton fall off the bandwagon over this?

In August 2009, the slugger apparently suffered a relapse when he was photographed drinking at a bar in Tempe, Ariz. He allegedly also sought to go a strip bar and asked someone where he could score some cocaine.

Hamilton addressed the allegations and apologized for his actions.

He has reportedly passed drug tests administered by the League since that incident.