DETROIT — There is no cheering in the press box. But in my heart, I was quietly rooting for Dontrelle Willis on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park.
The Tigers’ big, gregarious left-hander with the funky leg kick has been down a dark and scary road. This spring, Willis was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and placed on the disabled list.
He has seen a team of psychologists and psychiatrists, all of whom no doubt realized that he has an illness, not a weakness.
I don’t know the intimate, personal details of Willis’ fears and struggles. But I do know something about what he has been through.
Years back, anxiety put me on my own disabled list, robbing me of joy and making me doubt myself.
Love from my family and wife, a good doctor, medication, and ultimately a deeper understanding of my condition, helped me reclaim my quality of life. In unexpected ways, it made me a more patient, caring person.
I dealt with my high anxiety in private. I can hardly imagine how much tougher it has been for Willis, a highly paid athlete under the white-hot spotlight of professional sports.
Last year, a knee injury and a confounding inability to throw strikes put Willis in an emotional tailspin. This once-dominant presence on the mound, a pitcher who went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA for the Marlins in 2005, struggled just to make eight major- league appearances.
Willis recently acknowledged he was trying to be too perfect on every pitch. Knowing what I know, my guess is that he never gave himself a break.
Professional athletes in our society, of course, aren’t supposed to show mental frailty. Everybody is expected to be Kobe Bryant hitting the last shot. If they don’t come through, the most callous of sports fans are quick to say “choker.”
But believe it or not, even a pitcher blessed with a 90 mph-plus fastball and $29 million contract has fears, doubts and personal demons. Royals right-hander Zack Greinke missed almost all of the 2006 season with social anxiety and clinical depression. He has fought back to become one of baseball’s best pitchers.
Give credit to Major League Baseball for recognizing anxiety disorders as a medical condition, and a legitimate reason for players to be placed on the DL.
Willis didn’t win Sunday, but he pitched well, going deep into the seventh inning. When he came off the field, Tigers fans seated behind the home-field dugout stood and cheered.
I felt like doing the same.
Patrick Saunders covers the Rockies. Contact: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
