Sports Illustrated had a powerful story recently about players in Major League Baseball who have or currently dealing with issues of anxiety, depression and other mental illness. These players are dealing with these illnesses, most often privately but in a very public setting, creating a friction that just enhances feelings of pressure, hopelessness, and fear.

Mental illness has, through the brave efforts of those afflicted or their loved ones and friends, and medical professionals, garnered more attention and hopefully sympathy for those caught in the grips of conditions for which there is no timetable for recovery. Sprain ankle or have surgery for a broken fibula? You may be back in X weeks. Suffer from depression or a bipolar disorder, help can be had for sure, but timetable for recovery? That is anyone’s guess.

Major League Baseball and its member teams seem to have embraced its players and are helping them confront these health challenges. We applaud their commitment to see their players be of sound body, AND mind.

The article in Sports Illustrated is A Light In The Darkness; Led by Player Such as Ian Snell, Baseball is Taking the Lead in Pro Sports in Addressing Depression, Anxiety and Other Mental Health Problems by Pablo S. Torre.