Josh Hamilton, outfielder for the Texas Rangers, has dealt with demons before.
But the latest incident involving Shannon Stone, a fan who reached for a baseball thrown by Hamilton and fell to his death off a railing, has the major leaguer shocked and stunned.
STORY: Fan Falls To His Death After Catching A Foul Ball From Josh Hamilton! (PHOTOS x VIDEO)
Shannon Stone was a 39-year-old firefighter from Brownwood, Texas who attended the Texas Rangers vs. Oakland A’s game with his son. Hamilton tossed a baseball his way and while reaching for it, Stone fell about 20 feet, hitting his head on the concrete floor.
Stone was conscious after his fall, but went into full cardiac arrest while being transported by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a Fort Worth hospital less than an hour after he fell.
STORY: Josh Hamilton And Shannon Stone: An Update On A Texas Ranger Fan Who Died (VIDEO & PHOTO)
According to reports, Hamilton, as well as the Texas Rangers organization, is distraught over the death of Stone.
This is an unfortunate accident that Hamilton is forced to deal with and it only adds to the 2010 MLB MVP’s personal history.
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Hamilton has a well-documented history with drugs and alcohol use, dating back to 2001 where he made his first attempt at rehab. In and out of rehab since 2001, it took four years for Hamilton to finally clean up his act after being confronted by his grandmother, Mary Holt.
In 2008, Hamilton admitted that he had not used drugs or consumed alcohol since October of 2005. In 2009, photos were released of the MLB All-Star in an Arizona bar shirtless, drunk and partying with women.
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Hamilton apologized for his relapse in a statement to the MLB:
“Obviously it was one those things that reinforce that I can’t have alcohol. I got away from the one thing that kept me on the straight and narrow and that was my relationship with the Lord. That should always come first. Hopefully some good will come out of this. It just crossed my mind that night, ‘Can I have a drink?’ Obviously I can’t and this reinforces that. Since that night, I have not had another thought like that. I know it’s something I shouldn’t do because it leads to other things.”
Since the 2009 bar incident, Hamilton has been clean and sober, but now with the death of Stone, how will the reigning league MVP deal with this latest tragedy?
