How MLB teams are adapting their approach to mental health: ‘It’s part of the human experience’

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By Webdesk



Without fail, there’s always an awkward moment when Ed Chavez meets the Colorado Rockies at spring training camp.

“One of the first questions I ask is, ‘how many of you have been physically injured?’ And of course, almost everyone raises their hand because they’re ball players,” Chavez, the Rockies’ clinical psychologist, told CBS Sports.

“Then I ask, ‘how many of you have experienced a mental health problem or mental health challenge? Raise your hand.’ You can feel the tension in the room.”

A few players slowly raise their hands, Chavez said. Others look like they’re not sure if they should or shouldn’t.

Chavez acknowledges the tension in the room and asks the players if they feel it too. They always nod in agreement.

“I know some of you may have been unsure if your condition qualifies as a mental health challenge. Or maybe you were afraid of being judged,” he tells them. “Let’s talk about this.

“We all deal with mental health challenges. It’s part of the human experience. We will all experience whether it’s a mild degree of depression or anxiety, or whether we feel overly stressed. We feel that all.”

Chavez likens it to when someone asks you how you are. The default answer is usually “good” or “fine.” But that’s not always true. On the other hand, when asked how they feel physically, people are often more honest.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could have honest conversations about mental health just like we would about physical health?” Chavez told CBS Sports. “Our goal with an organization like the Rockies is that when a player is struggling with mental health, I want them to get support as easily as if they pulled a ligament or sprained an ankle.”

To make it easy for players to visualize the things that affect their minds, Chavez likes to use what he calls the bench method for mental health. Things that negatively affect you, such as not getting enough sleep or comparing yourself to others on social media, are “withdrawals.” Positive things like hobbies and a good night’s sleep are “down payments.” If you keep withdrawing without depositing, you will end up in trouble.

It’s a simple concept, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. While playing professional baseball may seem like a dream come true, the pressure is unimaginable.

“You never really make it in Major League Baseball. You feel like you have to prove yourself every day,” former MLB outfielder Billy Bean, who now works for MLB and helps with the mental wellness program, told CBS Sports.

Bean — who played for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres — pointed specifically to the financial strains. Superstars may block contract extensions, but most players fight daily to keep their jobs and guarantee a paycheck for next season. Because you’re constantly having to prove yourself, it’s easy to get in your head, Bean said.

“Not every day will be perfect,” he said. “Even guys like Mike Trout went 0-for-26 last year.”

Like trainers to heal a sprained ankle, MLB teams employ specialists who help mentally prepare players to perform at their best when needed. For the Rockies, that’s Douglas Chadwick.

“Baseball is so hard because of the amount of failures,” Chadwick told CBS Sports. “To deal with that effectively and be consistent under the heavy stress conditions of the game, you need to understand where you can draw confidence. It’s about being in the moment, being present, letting go of the last throw and be able to focus on this. pitch now.”

Chadwick teaches players how to focus on their confidence and reframe their thoughts effectively. On the mound, for example, he works with pitchers to develop a routine that uses physical actions and thoughts to return to the present moment.

He also ensures that players have identities that are not entirely dependent on their performance as an athlete.

“If your whole identity is tied to what you do and not who you are, you can have a lot of trouble dealing with adversity,” said Chadwick.

But what happens when you feel who you are as a person is not accepted? That isolation is what Bean experienced in his playing time.

The high school valedictorian and college baseball all-American began his career after being selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 1986 MLB Draft. Within two years he was called up to the majors, after which he was drafted by several MLB teams and Nippon Professional Baseball bounced. But off the field, Bean was dealing with something much bigger than his playing time: he was secretly gay and hiding his truth because it seemed like the only option at the time.

“I felt like someone like me didn’t belong in Major League Baseball,” he told CBS Sports.

His partner, Sam, died of HIV-related complications a day before Bean began the 1995 season with the Padres. He suffered the loss in silence.

“When my partner died of HIV, it felt like the last example of not fitting in,” Bean said.

Bean came out publicly in 1999, four years after his retirement. He is now MLB Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. His aim is to ensure that no player feels the same isolation as he does.

The league has changed significantly since the 1990s, as has society and culture in the United States in general. The approach to mental health isn’t perfect, but there has been an overhaul. Today, players are encouraged not to go through their struggles alone.

This season, three players have entered the injury list for psychological reasons: Oakland A’s successor, Trevor May, Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin MeadowsAnd Rockies closer to Daniel Bard. For a player to do so, he must be “evaluated by a qualified mental health professional and diagnosed as suffering from a mental disability that prevents a player from providing services,” the league said.

“It’s hard to admit,” Bard, who previously worked his way back to the majors after beating the yips, told reporters in March. “But I’ve been through this before. I have enough to do outside of the game to realize what’s important…I’m extremely grateful to be in an organization that understands and accepts these things.”

Chadwick pointed out that mental health issues are nothing new, but players hid (and likely still do) what was really going on, instead simply ascribing their absence to injury. Players who have been brave enough to discuss something so personal in public deserve a lot of respect, he said.

“I think the coaches in particular have become much more sensitive to that,” Chadwick tells CBS Sports . “The kind of old-school mindset of grinding, survival of the fittest, has really been replaced by a more humanistic approach.”

Chadwick travels with the team and, thanks to a new MLB rule, sits with the players in the dugout during games. He forms relationships with them and helps them figure out how to get mental help. But he doesn’t diagnose them – that’s Chavez’s job.

Veteran players are still less likely to talk about their problems, but younger players seem more willing to share, both Rockies specialists said. While the new generation is more open, Chadwick and Chavez both said mental health resources are still very underused by athletes. However, the progress they have seen over the years makes them optimistic about the future.

“We have to make it a way of life, something we talk about every day, just as we think about our physical health,” Chavez said. “We think about the food we put in or our body, but also about our workouts. If we do the same with our mental health, we’ll do well. We’ll feel strong.”

If you or someone you know is struggling, MLB has a free crisis text line (“MLB” to 741741) Available 24/7 in English and Spanish for anyone who needs confidential mental health and crisis support.





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