Josh Hamilton stood in front of media on Friday morning in Texas to apologize for his lapse on Monday night.
He drank at a local bar, called a teammate to pick him up and knows how he's disappointed and hurt people with his latest misstep.
According to the Dallas Morning News Hamilton began and ended on a contrite note.
"I had a weak moment on Monday night in Dallas" He added in somewhat cryptic fashion, "Personal reasons with a family member.
I do understand that I can't take a break. ... I just ask everybody who's watching and listening to pray for me and my family.
It was just wrong. I needed to be in a different place. I needed to be responsible."
Remaining clean and sober while being forever in the public eye isn't easy, as fans of Hollywood stars know. Headlines about Lohan, Demi and Heather Locklear's struggles saturate not just tabloids, but mainstream news sites.
A public figure can't disappear or cover it all up for very long. As Hamilton said, he can't take a single break.
Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan called Hamilton uncaring for going to a local bar where he was known, without forethought about the consequences.
Yet Hamilton told media that he was careful not to be seen with an actual drink in his hand during his bar visit, perhaps forgetting about the person who served him the liquor.
It's part of what he described as his sneaky behavior that comes to the fore when he decides to indulge. He's ready to meet with MLB doctors next week to go through whatever testing they believe is necessary.
Passan thinks this incident will convince the Rangers to refrain from signing him for big bucks and many years, as the team seeks to extend his current contract that will expire at the end of this upcoming season.
With injury issues that may or may not relate to his addiction, it was already a problem for the team to justify locking up their slugger like that.
Fans tend to be forgiving if the player's on-field performance doesn't suffer, especially if they have any first hand experience with the disease that overcomes the athlete.
The off-season for the Rangers has centered around more than Hamilton's new contract. The team spent more than a hundred million dollars signing Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish, who they hope will provide a good return on their investment.
Josh Hamilton's dilemma just overshadowed the hope that permeated the Arlington, Texas facility, for at least a few moments.
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