Sports, especially baseball, have long expected players to remain stoic, tough and emotionally silent. But as mental health awareness expands across Major League Baseball, that old-school mentality is shifting.
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was recently brought to tears after a fan made an insensitive comment about his late mother during a road game against the Chicago White Sox, sparking broader discussion about athletes’ mental health.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran similarly made headlines this spring when he confronted a heckling Cleveland fan who mocked his past suicide attempt, a struggle he discussed in a Netflix docuseries chronicling the team’s 2024 season.
In 2021, former San Francisco Giants minor league player Drew Robinson returned to professional baseball after surviving a suicide attempt that left him blind in his right eye. Robinson has become a powerful voice for the psychological well-being of athletes, currently serving as a mental-health advocate with the Giants.
All 30 MLB teams now employ mental health professionals. For the Diamondbacks, left-handed reliever Andrew Saalfrank says those resources are a vital part of staying focused amid the pressure of the game.
“We actually have a mental skills staff,” Saalfrank said. “Zach Brandon is here and then there’s another handful at the spring training complex.
Those are some really good resources to have, and even if things aren’t necessarily going bad, it’s just nice to have someone there to talk through your thoughts, how you process the game and how you handle the negativity and the failure of the game.”
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A 2019 report in the British Journal of Sports Medicine revealed that 34% of current elite athletes and 26% of former athletes experience anxiety/depression, suggesting that professional athletes encounter a higher prevalence of mental health concerns than the general population.
Yet for years, athletes were discouraged from publicly discussing their mental health, largely because of cultural stigma, especially for men in professional sports.
In recent seasons, MLB players have become more open than ever about their struggles. While Duran’s story gained the most attention thanks to Netflix, he’s not alone. Former pitcher Trevor May opened up about his anxiety in 2023, his final MLB season, during which he was placed on the injured list. A year later, Texas Rangers relief pitcher Chris Martin, then with the Red Sox, also spent time on the IL because of anxiety.
Mental health is deeply tied to performance in a sport built on routine and superstition, which is why many players and coaches rely heavily on daily mental habits. Each routine is different, shaped by a player’s role, preferences and mindset.
Saalfrank explained the mindset he has developed to succeed at his job.
“As a reliever, you have to be ready to go every day,” he said. “That one day, you take off mentally, that is the day you’re going to get in there and things are not going to go well. I think for me, it’s just trying to treat every day the same and kind of doing the same preparations, so that way, when you do throw and when you don’t throw, there’s really not too much of a change.”
Meanwhile, a batter might have a bad at-bat, but then has to flush it quickly to play defense and prepare for their next plate appearance. Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas, who enjoys listening to rap music to pump him up before the game, mentally prepares to stay focused through the ups and downs of nine innings or more.
“I think for me, it’s just forgetting about it,” Thomas said. “It’s hard to go from at-bat to at-bat forgetting about what happened, but those are the best type of hitters when they’re able to do that. I try to do that, but at least from a day-to-day basis, forgetting about what happened yesterday and just focusing on today.”
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While MLB players receive much of the spotlight, so do the managers as they not only oversee all the personalities in the clubhouse, but also make in-game strategic decisions that are often heavily analyzed.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is a strong proponent of mental health in baseball. His pregame routine is detailed and consistent, which keeps him focused and grounded.
“I take the same route to work, have the same cup of coffee on my drive in and call the same people,” Lovullo said. “It might be a little obsessive-compulsive, but it’s part of my process and it’s good for my mental health.
“Mental health is a huge part of this game, and I don’t care if you’re a player or a staff member, that team needs me at my best every single day, so I can’t be distracted. So I eliminate distractions, I block out the black noise, I have a black noise period of time in my day, where I expect it, and I welcome it, and I kind of encourage it, and once that’s done, I get into my own space.”
As the second half of the season grinds through the summer, the Diamondbacks are hoping to make a surge for a National League wild-card spot, a disappointing position for a team with preseason playoff hopes. Despite the team’s struggles, Thomas shared a reminder that just because the players are professional athletes, that does not make them any different from regular people when it comes to mental health.
“Maybe just take into consideration, you know, that we have the same lives as everyone else,” Thomas said. “We’re not better than anyone else, but we go through the same struggles of everyday life, whether that be family or something outside of that as well. So yeah, there’s definitely a lot to juggle whenever you’re here in the big leagues. You’re away from family, you’re away from pretty much everyone for most of the day, so it’s definitely tough in that aspect.”