Imagine the pressure of being on your way to becoming a professional athlete, the son of a three-time MLB All-Star with two World Series rings, being drafted by a team with their first pick in the MLB draft while still in high school, and being given the nickname, “The Natural”.
The expectations for you are very high and so is the amount of stress and anxiety to be just as good, if not better than your dad. For Ken Griffey, Jr., this was his life. And in his teenage years, there were mounds of pressure on the field and poor relationships at home. While most of us will not have this same childhood experience, we may still experience stress, anxiety and depression which is why Griffey decided to come forward about his mental health struggles and teenage suicide attempt.
Griffey was a true five tool player – he could run, jump, hit for power and contact, and field, which is something you don’t see everyday. Griffey, who struggled mentally through his high school and early MLB career, was diagnosed with PTSD, and describes his childhood as years of physical and mental abuse, moving a lot during his father’s MLB career and then his parents’ divorce, which led to bad family relationships.
His chaotic childhood and the expectations for baseball success, led to anxiety and depression. “It seemed like everyone was yelling at me in baseball, then I came home and everyone was yelling at me there,” Griffey told the Seattle Times. “I got depressed. I got angry. I didn’t want to live.”
At the age of 17, after being drafted by the Seattle Mariners, Griffey was away from home for the first time, experiencing the pressure of trying to make it to the big leagues. While battling racism and loneliness, he decided that it was too much, and he attempted suicide. Fortunately, he survived and has admitted that he has never tried it again.
He hoped his experience would let people know that you are not alone, and suicide is not a solution. In an interview, Griffey said he wants to tell children, “Don’t ever try to commit suicide…I am living proof how stupid it is.” (Los Angeles Times)
Griffey went on to be one of the greatest baseball players ever, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 after a 22-year professional career with the Mariners, White Sox, and Reds. With his iconic smile and sweet swing, you would never know the struggles he experienced and overcame.
While mental health is not an easy topic to open up about, if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please know help is available. At Elder, you can reach out to the school psychologist, Mr. Ridder, to your guidance counselor, or to a member of Elder’s Hope Squad. If you need immediate help, please call 911 for emergency services or 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.
