I was a little sick today. I had a fever and stuff but I was okay if I layed flat on my back. I was too sleepy to read or even watch the Giants game (I fell asleep a few times. if only I'd payed more attention, they would have won, I'm sure), so I just sat there thinking. My mind wandered. I had fever thoughts.
I started thinking about Justin Duchscherer. He's a pitcher for the Oakland A's but he's been out all season. I got a bobblehead of him at the one A's game I went to this season and it's been sitting in my car ever since. What's up with him? I thought. What kind of injury does this guy have? Is it going to effect the value of my bobblehead (that is already sun damaged from sitting in my car)? I reached for my computer and did some searching. Turns out "the Duke," as they call him (who knows how you say his last name? no one), was out with an elbow problem but is now taking the rest of the season off with clinical depression. My immediate reaction was "people can do that?" Of course I think people should be able to do that but was surprised baseball would let them. But I learned in this article that a few players have taken time off for anxiety or depression this season. And I remembered that Cy Young contender Zack Greinke took a season off in 2006 to deal with social anxiety disorder.
It still seemed like a touchy subject though, for the baseball players, I mean. I could see them saying "it's good he's taking care of that" (being positive) but with a very uncomfortable feeling behind it. I don't mean to pick on baseball players and their discomfort. I think most people would be that way. But lots of people get depressed, right? What did baseball players used to do? I wondered. Probably bottle it up and/or drink--that was my conclusion.
But wait! That's not the end of the story. Coincidentally, my roommate had a movie from Netflix called "Fear Strikes Out." 'Let's watch that,' we decided after he got home from "reading" at a bar. I set up a chair in his room to the reclining position and we settled into watching the "first starring role for young Anthony Perkins" (as the trailer advertised). I knew it was a movie about baseball but I didn't know it was about baseball and mental illness (if only I'd watch the first few seconds of this tribute). My fever thoughts must have been in touch with the forces of the universe.
The movie is about real life baseball player Jim (Jimmy) Piersall and his bouts with bipolar disorder. I don't know how to add photos in the middle of a post so he's at the top of this one. Jim's dad was always pushing Jim, not in a crazy way, he just wanted him to win, you know, and wouldn't talk to him for a few days if he lost. Karl Malden actually does a good job making Piersall's dad sympathetic--he seems like a friendly pusher, just wanting the best for his son, not really realizing he's pushing him. Anthony Perkins does a good job too. There is some dramatic music during his breakdown scenes but his performance feels subtle and less dated than a lot of psychological roles from the 40s-60s (Spellbound, The Three Faces of Eve, even Now, Voyager--another controlling parent vehicle). Also, it had some good baseball elements: fenway looking big and looming, realistic shots of the crowd, old skinny bats and fat padded gloves. The movie was made when Piersall was still playing and ends at the moment he is trying to return to baseball (after his biggest breakdown) so we looked on the internet to see how he fared.
I also found this vid of Jim seeming very affable while the host of 'What's My Line?' seems uncomfortable talking about mental illness.
The end of my first post.
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