Astros first baseman Jon Singleton has been through a lot. Suspended twice for failing drug tests for THC, he was released by Houston in 2018 during his 100-game suspension.
But Singleton never gave up. He played in the Mexican League in 2020 and eventually was signed by the Brewers who gave him a brief look before cutting him from the team.
"Jon Singleton was a victim of MLB's strict anti-drug policy with its onerous suspensions."
Ironically, it was the Astros that would give Singleton perhaps his last break. He signed with them in June and, after a brief stint with their minor league team, was promoted to the majors. On August 11, playing at Houston's Minute Maid Park for the first time since 2018, Singleton belted two home runs.
We wrote about Singleton in 2013:
Jon Singleton didn't stop smoking marijuana even after he was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball in 2013. But since a stint in rehab, the first baseman is hoping to star for the Astros this season.
"I know that I enjoy smoking weed," he says. "I enjoy being high and I can't block that out of my mind that I enjoy that. So I have to work against that. At this point it's pretty evident to me that I'm a drug addict."
Singleton grew up in Long Beach, California, where most of his friends smoked weed. "I guess I just don't like being sober," he adds. "I like to change the way I feel."
After attending Millikan High School in Long Beach, Singleton was drafted by the Phillies in 2009. They traded him to Houston in 2011. During five seasons in the minors, he hit 61 home runs and batted.
When he failed a drug test for marijuana after the 2012 season (it was his second positive), MLB docked him 50 games at the start of the 2013 season.
Singleton decided to come clean during an interview at Astros camp in Kissimmee, Florida.
"I knew I had a problem," he explains. "It was really bad. Me going (to rehab) was definitely the best move."
While Singleston stopped smoking pot, he drank as an alternative. "I went through some slight anxiety, some depression because I wasn't being successful," he says. "That was definitely difficult and that drove me to drink."
Now that he's sober, Singleton plans to stick in the major leagues for awhile.
That didn't quite work out. Singleton was a victim of MLB's strict anti-drug policy with its onerous suspensions. Those rules have since been revised. He tells the AP:
“I definitely think the way things are handled now, my career would have definitely been a lot different. From the way the players see things, the way staff sees things, the way it’s even handled in the commissioner’s office, my career definitely would have been a lot different...
"People thought I was a bad person. I had bad character. People didn’t think I deserved the success I had, the money that I had. I was definitely vilified...
"I was definitely made an example of. But I’m just glad that things have changed for the better now.”
Singleton says he still smokes "sparingly."
“I think it helps a lot of people, a lot of people can handle the daily stress better, whether it’s with CBD or marijuana. So, I think it helps a lot.”
CBD is legal, but THC remains prohibited in the Lone Star State .
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