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| Peyton and me at his first Astros Game |
It's that time of the year again, time for America's past time, baseball. High school and college are in full swing (pun intended), and the pros are now in spring training. It is that time of the year that, to borrow a phrase from Ernest Lawrence Thayer, that fans from Boston to San Diego cling "to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast."
Sadly, Spring is also the time of year that sees a rise in the rate of suicides. Contrary to popular belief that suicide rates are highest in the winter, studies show that it is actually the spring. As TS Eliot said in The Wasteland, "April is the cruelest month." The reasons are varied and complex, but never the less, as nature experiences a rebirth, people sink deeper into depression, lose hope, and make the choice to end their lives.
Over the years, more than 80 major league players have taken their lives. From former Cy Young award winner Mike Flanagan and Hideki Irabu, who was part of two New York Yankee World Championship teams to players such as Dan Thomas and Carlos Bernier that are barely more than a foot note in the Baseball Almanac. One of the more notable baseball suicides would be Ryan Freel, a utility player whose major league career spanned eight years with five different teams. Freel was the first former Major League Baseball player to have his brain studied by the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the first to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma that played a role in the suicide deaths of former NFL stars Aaron Hernandez, Andre Waters, Dave Duerson and Junior Seau.
So what do baseball and suicide have to do with each other? Maybe nothing. More that 15,000 men have played in the major leagues over the years, which means less that one percent have ever taken their lives. While there have been some, such as Jimmy Piersall, that openly battled mental health issues during their playing career, many suffered in silence over the years. Now former players such as Khalid Greene, 2003 NL Rookie Of the Year Dontrelle Willis, and former Pirates ace Ian Snell, and current players such as Evan Gattis of the Astros, Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, and 2011 World Series MVP David Freese have been open about their battles with mental illness. Statistics show that one in every five people deal with some type of mental health issue, then for every Gattis, Greinke, and Freese, there are four other players on the 25 man roster that are fighting similar battles. Over the years, players such as Tommy Hanson and Eric Show turned to drugs and alcohol to battle the demons, only to lose the war against them. Perhaps by being open and acknowledging the problems of mental health and suicide in our society, the Astros and Major League Baseball can help bring attention to a growing epidemic in our country.
Last year the Astros averaged 36, 797 fans per game. Once again, if statistics prove true, then 1,840 of those fans were dealing with some kind of mental health issue. Sadly, only about 50% of them were being treated, approximately 100 will attempt suicide, and four will succeed. Over the course of the season, of the 2,980,549 fans that took in a game at Minute Maid Park, approximately 387 of them would have taken their lives, and 9,675 of them would have attempted. In all, baseball would have lost 8,694 fans during the 2018 season.*
So before we brush it aside, imagine Dodger Stadium (average attendance 47, 043) in Los Angles sitting empty or T-Mobile Park in Seattle (capacity 48,116) with less than 1,000 fans for a game. That is approximately the number of people lost to suicide each year. A number that can be reduced through education and awareness. So while MLB teams set aside games to show appreciation to Teachers, First Responders, the Armed Forces , and Nurses (all needed and appreciated), as well as nights for Cancer Awareness, Autism Awareness, Transplant Awareness (once again, all much needed and appreciated), why can't they set aside a night for Suicide or Mental Health? With approximately 65 million Americans battling Mental Health issues during the course of a year, there would be substantial interest and appreciation.
I urge every person that lives in one of the 30 cities that supports a MLB team to contact their team and encourage them to host such a night. The same goes for all of those that live in cities hosting Minor League teams, from Triple A down through the Rookie Leagues to the Independent Leagues. Ask them to host a night that calls attention to such a tragic issue. I promise you, there are so many people out there that have lost a loved one, contemplated taking their own lives, or battle mental health issues that want to know that they are not alone, that they do not need to suffer in silence, and that there are people out there that give a damn. I promise you Major League Baseball, if you host it, they will come.
*This entire paragraph is based upon my very poor math skills. My numbers could be off.
Over the years, more than 80 major league players have taken their lives. From former Cy Young award winner Mike Flanagan and Hideki Irabu, who was part of two New York Yankee World Championship teams to players such as Dan Thomas and Carlos Bernier that are barely more than a foot note in the Baseball Almanac. One of the more notable baseball suicides would be Ryan Freel, a utility player whose major league career spanned eight years with five different teams. Freel was the first former Major League Baseball player to have his brain studied by the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy and the first to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma that played a role in the suicide deaths of former NFL stars Aaron Hernandez, Andre Waters, Dave Duerson and Junior Seau.
So what do baseball and suicide have to do with each other? Maybe nothing. More that 15,000 men have played in the major leagues over the years, which means less that one percent have ever taken their lives. While there have been some, such as Jimmy Piersall, that openly battled mental health issues during their playing career, many suffered in silence over the years. Now former players such as Khalid Greene, 2003 NL Rookie Of the Year Dontrelle Willis, and former Pirates ace Ian Snell, and current players such as Evan Gattis of the Astros, Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, and 2011 World Series MVP David Freese have been open about their battles with mental illness. Statistics show that one in every five people deal with some type of mental health issue, then for every Gattis, Greinke, and Freese, there are four other players on the 25 man roster that are fighting similar battles. Over the years, players such as Tommy Hanson and Eric Show turned to drugs and alcohol to battle the demons, only to lose the war against them. Perhaps by being open and acknowledging the problems of mental health and suicide in our society, the Astros and Major League Baseball can help bring attention to a growing epidemic in our country.
Last year the Astros averaged 36, 797 fans per game. Once again, if statistics prove true, then 1,840 of those fans were dealing with some kind of mental health issue. Sadly, only about 50% of them were being treated, approximately 100 will attempt suicide, and four will succeed. Over the course of the season, of the 2,980,549 fans that took in a game at Minute Maid Park, approximately 387 of them would have taken their lives, and 9,675 of them would have attempted. In all, baseball would have lost 8,694 fans during the 2018 season.*
So before we brush it aside, imagine Dodger Stadium (average attendance 47, 043) in Los Angles sitting empty or T-Mobile Park in Seattle (capacity 48,116) with less than 1,000 fans for a game. That is approximately the number of people lost to suicide each year. A number that can be reduced through education and awareness. So while MLB teams set aside games to show appreciation to Teachers, First Responders, the Armed Forces , and Nurses (all needed and appreciated), as well as nights for Cancer Awareness, Autism Awareness, Transplant Awareness (once again, all much needed and appreciated), why can't they set aside a night for Suicide or Mental Health? With approximately 65 million Americans battling Mental Health issues during the course of a year, there would be substantial interest and appreciation.
I urge every person that lives in one of the 30 cities that supports a MLB team to contact their team and encourage them to host such a night. The same goes for all of those that live in cities hosting Minor League teams, from Triple A down through the Rookie Leagues to the Independent Leagues. Ask them to host a night that calls attention to such a tragic issue. I promise you, there are so many people out there that have lost a loved one, contemplated taking their own lives, or battle mental health issues that want to know that they are not alone, that they do not need to suffer in silence, and that there are people out there that give a damn. I promise you Major League Baseball, if you host it, they will come.
*This entire paragraph is based upon my very poor math skills. My numbers could be off.
