Nightengale: Josh Hamilton returns to Texas, perhaps all the wiser

Bob Nightengale | USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas - If you didn't know any better, you could have sworn Monday that nothing has changed with Josh Hamilton.

He displayed that same gregarious personality, winking to reporters he knew, nodding to familiar faces, flaunting the charisma that won the hearts of Texas.

He revealed that same confidence, an endearing arrogance, as if he still was the greatest player in baseball.

If only it was that easy to forget the last two years in Anaheim, where Hamilton, a drug addict who had his latest relapse two months ago, was only a shadow of himself.

The Los Angeles Angels, who signed him to a five-year, $125 million contract, never saw the same player who dominated the American League during his five-year stint in Texas.

They saw a tormented, conflicted man, who left his heart and soul in Texas.

They saw a man who never really wanted to be in California, but was pulled by his now-estranged wife, and, of course, the money.

He never wanted to leave Texas. This is where he belonged. This is the place that understood him. He could have his troubles, daily issues, and they adapted to him.

Yet, once he chased the money, letting his wife follow her dreams with talks of a Hollywood movie and a deal to be on the "Real Housewives of Orange County,'' his comfort zone dissipated.

It was never going to work.

Maybe, it was Hamilton who never really gave it a chance, unable to ever feel comfortable in Anaheim.

It was a disaster waiting to happen, and when the two sides realized it was never going to work, the Rangers were around to pick up the pieces.

The Angels did not receive a single player when they finalized their deal Monday, with the Rangers paying only about $7 million of Hamilton's remaining $80.2 million to take Hamilton off the Angels' hands. The Angels are paying at least $60 million, with Hamilton agreeing to give back salary knowing Texas' lack of state income tax will make up most of that difference.

"Looking back on it, if I could change the past,'' Hamilton said, "I would. I can only learn from it. I probably wouldn't have gone anywhere. I can't change that. …

"Your environment definitely has something to do with it. I love the guys on my team in L.A. It was awesome there. But it was L.A. It wasn't Texas.

"Fighting through some things off the field as well, made it tough.

"It was just really different.''

Hamilton, 33, has always been easy to like, but always wanted to be loved back. When he started struggling with the Angels, and was booed, he never recovered.

He wasn't the same guy. Baseball stopped being fun. He hated even showing up at the ballpark. Friends like Roy Silver, his mentor who helped straighten out his life during his deepest drug addiction, had trouble believing he was the same guy when they talked last summer. Silver wondered if it was perhaps best for Hamilton to simply retire.

"I need baseball,'' said Hamilton, addressing the media for the first time in nearly seven months. "I love baseball. I've been playing baseball since I was 3.

"But baseball's coming to an end soon, and the reason I'm making certain changes in my life is I want to be OK after baseball's over.''

The more Hamilton talked, it was impossible not to let your imagination run wild.

"This guy has been counted out a lot of times,'' said Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, who opened negotiations with the Angels a month ago about Hamilton. "He sat out four years and came back and was the best player in the game.

"I'm not saying he'll perform at that level again. I know the aging curves and projections and all of those things, but he's beat that before. It wouldn't shock me if he does again.''

Really, in many ways, the Rangers are almost counting on it.

You see, Hamilton is at his best when he hits rock bottom, and this is the bottom.

The Angels gave up on him. So did every other team that could have had him for without even giving up a player. The Angels were shopping him all winter.

Only the Rangers wanted him.

"I have expectations on myself,'' Hamilton said. "The fact I haven't been the player I've been the past couple years only fuels that fire. I'm not over the hill, if that's what you're thinking.''

Hamilton, who spoke for almost 25 minutes, could have blamed only himself for his struggles with the Angels, but instead, almost taunted the Angels for giving up on him. Angels owner Arte Moreno was the one who believed in him in the first place when he gave him the $125 million payday, but Hamilton acted almost as if Moreno was an idiot for trusting him.

"He knew what the deal was when he signed me,'' Hamilton said. "Hands down. He knew what he was getting, what the risks were. Under the (Joint Drug Agreement), it is what it is.''

When asked about Moreno's comments that Hamilton wasn't accountable during his two-year stint, instead of taking responsibility, Hamilton lashed back.

"I have no clue what he is talking about,'' Hamilton said. "I showed up every day. Played hard every day I was there. Going into this season, I hadn't been the player they wanted me to be. But I worked my butt off to be that player this year for the Angels.

"They just didn't want it to happen to me for some reason.''

Well, that's a little silly, of course. When you're paying a guy $25 million a year, why wouldn't you want him to succeed? The Angels will tell you they did everything possible to make Hamilton comfortable, but it became too much.

Hamilton blamed the Angels for firing his accountability partner, Shayne Kelley, after the 2012 season. Yet, the Angels say, it was Hamilton and his wife, who fired Kelly.

Kelley now is back with Hamilton, along with the rest of his support team.

Hamilton's wife, Katie, is gone from his life.

Hamilton filed for divorce in February, right about the time he had his latest relapse, informing Major League Baseball officials that he was no longer clean. It was his first relapse since being drunk and alone in a Dallas bar in 2012, which came three years after another drunken incident in Tempe, Ariz.

"This last one, between 2012 and 2015, a lot of my support system was kind of removed, or pushed away,'' Hamilton said, "and other pieces added. Not all by my doing. I've taken it back to 2012, pre-2012, having my same support group that I want to have.

"People who won't tell me what I want to hear. They'll tell me what I need to hear. They'll kick my butt.

"I feel like that's best for me.''

Hamilton, who says he now will be tested five times a week for drug and alcohol use, is expected to be ready to the big leagues in about a month. He underwent shoulder surgery on Feb. 3, and although he said he was ready to play a month ago, the Angels deny it.

"That's just inaccurate,'' Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told USA TODAY Sports. "When he has surgery, we were given a prescribed time for him. Everyone understood the timetable.

"We did not intentionally delay anything. There was never a point where we could send him out to rehab.''

The Angels were prepared to send him out to their extended spring-training camp in Tempe, Ariz., this week, but after talks heated up with the Rangers, it made no sense to play charades. The Angels were done with him. They finally found a team that wanted him. Hamilton instead was scheduled to take a flight Monday night to Arizona, where he will work out at the Rangers' facility in Surprise.

"I know Josh had a difficult time here, but hope the best for him, I really do,'' Dipoto said. "I really believe he has a good heart.

"This is the right decision for everyone involved.''

Now, given yet another chance at redemption, we'll find out whether Hamilton has changed too, perhaps coming back a stronger man than the one who left Texas.

"I've done a lot of growing and soul-searching,'' Hamilton said. "I've learned some things the past couple of years. I'll try to be a better man, a better father, a better player on the field.

"I'm excited about being a Ranger, excited about being a fan again, ending my career having fun, and smiling.

"If that happens, everything takes care of itself.''

We can only hope, and, yes, pray.

GALLERY: Josh Hamilton, through the years