Josh Hamilton Will Have Knee Surgery Miss Entire 2016 Season

Josh Hamilton has had a rough past few seasons. After hitting 43 home runs for the Texas Rangers in 2012, he was a massive disappointment in one-and-a-half seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. Hamilton was traded back to the Rangers last season but has struggled to regain the form that made him a star for Texas. Now comes word that he’ll miss the entire 2016 season.

The 35-year-old has not played a game this year while rehabbing his left knee after an offseason procedure. He had begun a minor league rehab assignment but on May 1, he was pulled off of it thanks to persistent soreness in the knee. General manager Jon Daniels now says Hamilton will undergo knee surgery on June 8 and miss the rest of the season.

It’s sad that Hamilton has struggled so mightily with his health over the past few seasons. His rise from an addiction-filled past to a 2010 AL MVP award was one of the better stories baseball has produced in the past half-century. The man has an immense level of natural talent, but his body has been breaking down for the past five years. It’s easy to conclude that his years of drug abuse probably have some connection to his recent string of major injuries.

Hamilton has also struggled off the field in recent years. He has had a pair of high-profile relapses and gone through a rough divorce. So this is the latest in a string of personal and professional setbacks.

I’d love for Hamilton to stay clean, get healthy and come back for another stretch in Major League Baseball. It would be great to see him conquer his doubters yet again. But at this point it would appear his body simply won’t hold up to the rigors of the sport. We may never see him fully healthy again.