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's hit 61 home runs and batted. 280.
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.
