The Associated Press

 

Josh Hamilton is undergoing counseling individually and with his wife in the aftermath of his alcohol relapse, and the Texas Rangers slugger said he is “doing things right a day at a time.”

In an exclusive interview Wednesday with Pastor James Robinson on Glenn Beck’s live streaming video network, Hamilton said he knows his addiction is a serious issue.

The interview came just more than two weeks after Hamilton had several drinks during dinner in Dallas on Jan. 30 and continued drinking later that night. It was the second known relapse with alcohol in the past three years for the recovering drug addict.

“We’re taking this as, obviously it’s a serious issue,” Hamilton said. “I had a slip-up in ‘09 and moving past that, it was, OK, I’m fine. OK, it was just one night, everything’s over and we didn’t really move back towards well, what caused some slip-up?

“So this time, it’s not just, ‘OK, it happened, we’ll move past it and maybe it won’t happen again,”’ he said. “We want to find out why it continues to happen.”

Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, said he feels shame about his mistakes, but is willing to admit them.

The outfielder, who relies strongly on his Christian faith, said he is digging deeper and letting God take control over past things he has done, and that is helping to free his mind.

“It’s going to be a process,” he said. “I’m learning from my mistakes. The work I’ve been doing isn’t a fix-all at this moment. It’s a learning process. … It is a spiritual reprogramming.”

Hamilton said he’s doing well and so is his family.

At one point, Hamilton looked straight into the camera and thanked the people who have continued to pray for him and support him. He said he’s not perfect and wants to be a better person, husband and father.

Hamilton was the No. 1 overall draft pick by Tampa Bay in 1999 before getting involved in drugs and alcohol. He missed more than three full seasons in the minor leagues because of several drug suspensions, and didn’t make his major league debut until 2007 with Cincinnati.

After being traded to the Rangers, he became one of baseball’s best players on a team that has won the last two American League pennants.