Josh Hamilton is trying to kick the smokeless tobacco habit

Josh Hamilton and I have at least one thing in common: we both want to quit chewing smokeless tobacco, or more namely; dip.

“Today is the first day,” Hamilton said before the Rangers’ series finale with the Rays. “The Holy Spirit … I kept waking up last night thinking about different things and what might be causing me to stumble in my relationship with the Lord. I felt like chewing tobacco was one. So I got up this morning and threw it all away. So when it is time to take a dip, I pray instead.”

I’ve made the deal with myself several times, and when I say several I would say no more or less than fifty. This dip that I had in my mouth was going to be my last one. Every time I found myself in a stressful situation, or had a few alcoholic drinks, or went on a long trip on the car, or wrote a post on this very blog, or attended a ballgame; it seemed like a good time to have another chew from one of those nasty circular cans.

It’s a fun habit. It’s fun to enjoy if you’ve done it since you played. It’s not something I want to quit–while at the same time I lay awake in bed at night and think about wanting to stop. I’m at the point now that if I don’t quit, I’ll never quit and it will kill me. I know that. But it’s not easy.

I’ve never been addicted to anything else. There was nothing I couldn’t stop or go without. Chew has always been my biggest vice, and it is a bad one.

I commend Josh Hamilton in his battle. I imagine his past experience in swearing off harmful substances will probably help him in this instance. Hopefully by season’s end, the world will have two less tobacco chewing club card carrying members.