Josh Hamilton would like to add his support to Jeff Allison.
Having waged his own successful and ongoing battle against drug dependency, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton wants to reach out to other baseball players now walking in his shoes. To that end, he plans to contact Peabody native Jeff Allison, who was a first-round draft pick of the Florida Marlins. After years of drug abuse, Allison is back playing professional baseball. --- ."..I heard he made the (Florida State League) All-Star team and he’s doing well.” --- “If someone were to call me and talk to me, someone who had been through it all and made it back and is doing well, it probably would have meant a lot,” Hamilton said. “Just hearing those words of encouragement . . . and whether it’s one month or two months, the more time he gets under his belt the better he’s going to feel. That’s where we can relate, as to how we felt at that time. Even though Jeff appears to be on the right track, it definitely can't hurt if Hamilton and him open up a dialogue and it may help. Who knows, maybe they will both get a friend out the deal, and that ain't bad.