MLB: Pro athletes are human? Who knew?

By @RyanGrosman
Laced
June 29, 2017

“I just feel a little bit anxious, a little bit weird. I’m just not myself right now.” ~Roberto Osuna

Pro athletes are human beings.

As fans, I think we lose sight of this fact. And I’m just as guilty as anyone in seeing these people as more than human.

I mean, it’s hard not to, right?

They continually thrive in high-pressure situations. They succeed when success seems impossible. They repeatedly stare down the barrel of a gun and come out on top. They do what we can only dream of doing and they do it seemingly without breaking a sweat.

They appear larger than life – super human, even. But they are still human.

We forget that they have feelings and emotions just like the rest of us. That they have ups and downs just like the rest of us. And that they can feel lost just like the rest of us.

Case in point, Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna.

A widely successful, lights out closer with confidence beyond his years on the mound is currently dealing with anxiety issues off of it.

Having coped with my own issues, I can relate to his plight. That’s not to say I know what he’s personally going through. It’s different for everyone.

But what I do know is that it’s very, very scary.

Break your arm and they give you a cast. Recovery time: 2-3 months. Suffer from anxiety or depression and there’s no set remedy or timetable.

“I wish I knew how to get out of this”

I’m pretty sure I’ve said these exact words more than once. I have to say, it was a bit strange hearing them from someone of Osuna’s stature. But a welcome strange.

You can count on one tiny cartoon hand the number of times a pro athlete has spoken up about their mental state. It’s extremely rare and few and far between. But Osuna’s not alone.

MLB MVP and Canadian born Joey Votto immediately comes to mind.

Back in 2008, his father passed away. The following May, Votto went on the DL and no one seemed to know why.

Turns out he was dealing with depression and panic attacks stemming from his father’s death. All his feeling and thoughts came to a boil.

I’ve never been more impressed by a pro athlete in my life. And it had zero to do with what he did on the field.

Joey Votto, a tough as nails player who not only beat the odds to make it to the majors, but also turned himself into one of the best and most feared hitters in the league, fully opened up about his mental health issues.

When the hell does that ever happen?

The answer is, it doesn’t. I certainly can’t recall an athlete being so honest and frank about something affecting him mentally. On that day, my respect for Votto quintupled.

Helping others cope

Pro athletes are hard to relate to. Their speed. Their power. Their endurance. Their off the charts athletic ability. It’s far beyond anything we can imagine ourselves being able to do.

This goes back to seeing athletes as super human. The fact that they make more money in one day than a lot of us do in an entire year doesn’t help either.

But when Votto talked openly about his issues, I felt like I could relate to him. A pro athlete never seemed more human.

At the same time, it gave me some encouragement knowing an MLB phenom was dealing with similar issues. As I’m sure it helped others – both athletes and fans.

Osuna’s mega maturity

Who knows exactly what Osuna’s dealing with. Too much success too fast. Missing his family in Mexico. Relationship issues. It could be any number of things or a combination of all of these things.

It’s also a very long season. 162 games in 6 months, not including playoffs. No other sport has this kind of grueling schedule. It’s a grind and it takes a toll physically and mentally.

How can it not?

But Osuna has shown a level of maturity like very few other young athletes have. It’s been apparent from day one.

You have to have a certain level of maturity to do what he’s done in his 22 years on this planet. Dealing with tough times growing up in Mexico. Playing in a Mexican league at age 16. Earning the Jays’ closer job at 20. Closing out pressure cooker playoff games the last 2 seasons.

You also have to be sporting a huge pair of Rawlings baseballs to do what he’s been doing.

Sure he’s had some ups and downs over his young career. What good player hasn’t? But mostly he’s been dominant. And recently at 22 years and 134 days old, he became the youngest pitcher in MLB history to record 75 saves.

But he’s not just one of the best young closers in the game. He’s one of the best closers period.

So, with his uber maturity and supreme confidence, in a way, it’s not that surprising that he was willing to share what he’s going through.

A reluctance to speak

Both Votto and Osuna deserve applause for speaking so openly about what they’re going through.

I mean, neither one had to tell us a darn thing. In Osuna’s case, the Jays could’ve made something up.

Sid Seixeiro on Tim & Sid made a really good point. Sometimes we see players scratched from lineups due to shoulder soreness. Neck stiffness. Flu-like symptoms. Hockey’s very famous “lower body injury.”

Maybe these players are actually suffering from these ailments. But maybe sometimes it’s something else entirely.

One can only assume athletes are hesitant to discuss their mental health issues in fear of the ridicule they’d receive – from fans, media and, most importantly, their peers. That they’d be seen as not being able to tough it out. As less of a man. As not having any balls.

Well, I can assure you that Osuna’s balls are still firmly intact…I mean, as far as I know.

Perhaps they have a fear of appearing flawed in some way. As being a human person with human problems.

So again, I applaud Osuna for speaking up.

It might open the door for other players to talk more openly about their issues. Then again, it might not.

Here’s hoping it does.

Follow @RyanGrosman