It’s been a tough year for austin meadows in his first season with detroit tigers. And now it’s over.
The former All-Star outfielder announced Friday that he will not return to the field this season due to mental health concerns. He said that he still plans to stay with the team, he just won’t play.
Meadows full statement:
This season has been an unfortunate struggle with a series of injuries and illnesses, from dealing with vertigo early on, then COVID, to bilateral tendinitis in my Achilles, and then having to go through the rehab process each time.
What I have told very few people is that I have also been struggling with my mental health in a way that has extended my time away from the game that I love so much. I have been dealing with this privately with a great team of professionals, but I need to continue to work hard off the field to feel mentally healthy.
While I have returned to the clubhouse in recent weeks and plan to remain with the club until the end of the season, I am not ready to return to the field just yet. I am very grateful to my family, my teammates and the Tigers organization for supporting me in this. I can’t do this alone, and I hope that by sharing my experience I can touch at least one person who might be going through their own difficulties and encourage them to seek help from someone.
As Meadows mentions, he has dealt with a litany of issues this season, first hitting the disabled list with vertigo on May 16, then dealing with COVID-19 in June and Achilles tendonitis in both ankles a few weeks later. He hasn’t played in a game since June 15.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch not only promised that the team would support Meadows in his recovery, but praised him for coming to terms with the problem:
“I can’t express how proud I am of him,” Hinch said. “Maybe there’s a kid out there, maybe there’s a teammate, maybe an ex-teammate, maybe someone in the league who is struggling on their own and is curious if they should ask for help or even admit they have problems that they need.” . to work.
“Austin has chosen the path of being proactive and helping others while helping himself and moving to the next step in his recovery.”
Meadows joined Detroit just days before opening day in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that sent back infield prospect Austin Paredes and a competition B draft pick.
In 36 games with the Tigers, Meadows hit .250/.347/.328 with no home runs and 11 RBIs. That pace represents a step back from Meadows’ production with the Rays, with whom he made an All-Star Game in 2019 and the World Series in 2020.
Of course, it’s been a tough year for the Tigers, who tried to take a step forward in their rebuild by trading Meadows and free agents like Javier Báez and Eduardo Rodríguez, but now sit in last place in the AL Central. with a mark of 50-81. .
