Mike Marjama earned a spot on the Seattle Mariners' Opening Day roster thanks to an excellent performance in spring training. Now, he's using his new platform to talk publicly about how he almost never got there at all.
The 28-year-old catcher is opening up about his past struggles with eating disorders as a teenager. In an interview with ABC's Good Morning America on Wednesday, Marjama said his struggles, which included anorexia and bulimia, began in grade eight and then "progressed all the way through my junior year of high school."
"I started just restricting my diet, just overworking," Marjama said. "I put a stationary bike in the shower, and (would) ride until I would pass out."
Marjama explained that as a high-school junior, he stepped away from baseball and was hospitalized to get treatment, a time he says was "rock bottom." He's since recovered and went on to play college baseball at Long Beach State before turning pro in 2011.
He spoke more about his road to recovery in an Uninterrupted documentary short that was released Wednesday.
Marjama told Good Morning America that he hopes going public will help others - especially men - who struggle silently with eating disorders and body image issues.
"If I can maybe affect one person that doesn't have to have their hopes and dreams taken away from them because they're suffering from an eating disorder," he said. "And they're able to follow their hopes and dreams, that's all I really want."
Originally a 23rd-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, Marjama spent seven seasons in the minors with three different organizations before the Mariners called him up last September. He appeared in five big-league games with the Mariners last year and will begin 2018 as their backup catcher behind starter Mike Zunino.
