Pitching coach Neil Allen rejoined the Twins on Thursday after six weeks away because of an alcohol-related driving arrest and thanked the team for helping him get straight.
"They could have very easily told me to take a hike," Allen told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "But they probably saved my life by putting me into that program."
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Allen, 58, spent five weeks in an outpatient treatment program for alcohol addiction. He was arrested May 26 after what he said was his first time drinking since giving up alcohol in 1994. The Twins put him on indefinite suspension.
"Alcoholism is something you think, after 22 years, 'Not me,' " Allen said. "Well, it happened. Unfortunately, it doesn't just go away because you've been dry 22 years."
Allen addressed the team in the clubhouse in Arlington, Texas, before Thursday's game against the Rangers and later told reporters his time away was "embarrassing" and "humiliating."
General manager Terry Ryan said the Twins never considered firing Allen.
"He needed help as a human being," Ryan said. "You can't possibly consider deserting a guy in that state, it's just not fair. He made a mistake and a huge mistake, so we did the right thing. We got him help."
A former pitcher, Allen spent parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues. He last played in 1989.
