MLB has finally identified mental health as an area of need. The league has started to allocate resources to all 30 clubs to address the broad and complex range of issues that affect the well-being of its athletes. As an extension of this, each club sets aside its own resources to tackle any sweeping needs that affect the club as a whole. Individual help might also be available on hand. This can be either in the clubhouse or very close to it. A player can access real-time support if an imminent need arises. This is especially important for baseball players, who require the ability to make constant adjustments and to immediately bounce back from failure.
Team meetings of old, where strategies like the “Ship at Sea” imagery, offered by a hypnotist in the 1980’s iconic classic “The Natural,” have rightfully been abandoned. In their place are cadres and more sport-specific help. Supports range from sports psychologists, strength and conditioning coaches, and trained mental health coaches who might offer a player anything from entry-level cognitive behavioral therapy to box breathing techniques.
In the name of production and winning, MLB clubs have the staff on hand to try to ensure that their players are emotionally balanced. That is, at least enough so that a player will hopefully not succumb to performance anxiety and become a liability to the club. The bottom line is, though, that MLB can and must do better to contend with the increasingly challenging mental health obstacles facing baseball players today.
The NBA has branched out and openly addressed its pressing mental health needs. It has created a Player Advocacy Mental Health forum that is malleable and constantly keeping up with the times. With its commitment to providing 24/7 access to mental health support and confidential counseling for all players, the NBA has become the quintessential mental health blueprint. MLB is not quite there yet.
MLB players have their eyes on the prize in more ways than one. Baseball is a team game, but anyone who has played at any level from High School and up knows that individual effort can either carry a team one day or be exposed as a liability the next.
The ups and downs of the sport are truly individual and unique compared to other sports. A hockey player can coast and even accidentally score a game-winning goal by deflecting a shot. A basketball player can focus on crisp passes and defense if his or her shot happens to be off that day. A football player can do nothing but run up and down the field on special teams and later be praised with “good game” by coaches.
Baseball players have nowhere to hide if they get a sudden inexplicable case of the yips and embarrassingly short-hop the first baseman on a routine throw. Conversely, on offense, a player must immediately try to bounce back from a 0-for-five performance in a night game, and then arrive for BP at the ballpark early the following day before the afternoon game. The treadmill of an MLB season is fast and steady, and there is no getting off.
While pursuing success, the MLB player must cope and compartmentalize. If the yips or sudden performance anxiety surfaces during a game or practice, the team will do what they can regarding support. Anxiety, however, can quickly snowball.
If a player cannot navigate the distractions on their own, they will often need to seek help outside of the organization. Accessing these supports requires both humility and self-advocacy. This can be a tall order as being under the microscope and in the public eye is the life of an MLB player.
Players will do whatever it takes to plow through. The prize is not only to remain on an MLB roster. Aside from winning a World Series, the end game is to set themselves and their family up for life financially. Realistically, though, only 24 percent of MLB players achieve the 10-year service requirement that will allow for a lifetime pension to be drawn as early as age 45.
The player fighting tooth and nail to remain on the 40-man roster might feel that obtaining these life-changing benefits could slip away at any moment if they are not at the top of their game. Adding insult to injury is the unprecedented gap between the top 5 percent in MLB, which has an average annual value (AAV) of $20 million, and the large number who are grateful for receiving the league minimum of $750,000.
Sure, the minimum is a good chunk of change, but there is undoubtedly a hierarchy in the clubhouse whereby, for example, Juan Soto is probably more carefree when compared to a second-year player who has bounced back and forth from AAA. From the outside looking in, we envy the rockstar image that MLB players project daily on the field and perhaps on social media. The clubhouse you can bet, is a microcosm of that.
We as fans, are not exactly privy to their immense pressure to perform. These players have been great at a game for their entire lives. All of the distracting elements that have been eluded to here can gradually chip away at the “fun” aspect of the game.
There just isn’t that readily available individual support that players can check in with to ensure that the fun is preserved. With accessible support that could allow players to express their vulnerabilities, players will be much more likely to find their zone of optimum performance where their talents shine, and everyone benefits.
The NBA has reached a point where players feel safe to open up when the threats of anxiety or mental health obstacles arise. It wasn’t reached organically, though. It was through the bravery of players such as Kevin Lowe (pictured in the tweet) and Demar DeRozan (pictured previously), among many others, who publicly shared their own stories of trauma and facing mental health obstacles.
Their open efforts normalized the conversation to the point that there now seems to be a running, open dialogue. The entire NBA embraced the idea of safely expressing and talking through times of extreme vulnerability openly. This conversation has extended to community outreach initiatives, where the NBA and its players are viewed as genuine agents of change.
Major League Baseball is beginning to unravel its reputation as a stoic, silent body that will carry on through any problem, big or small. It is starting to open up and get with the times. Much work needs to be done, though, so that players do not have to be made to feel alone or to self-medicate to meet the enormous expectations bestowed upon them. Players need to feel safe and express who they are; they are human beings who play baseball very well. The NBA has recognized and embraced this distinction. MLB needs to do the same.
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