Tigers' Meadows opens up about mental health struggles
Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows revealed Friday that his extended absence this season has in part been due to mental health struggles.
Meadows detailed what has made 2022 a challenging season for him in a statement on Twitter and thanked the Tigers organization for its understanding and support.
This season has been an unfortunate struggle with a series of injuries and illness, 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 also have been struggling with my mental health in a way that has extended my time away from the game that I love so much. I've been dealing with this privately with a great team of professionals, but I need to continue to put in the hard work off the field towards feeling mentally healthy.
While I've been back in the clubhouse the past few weeks, and plan to remain with the club through the end of season, I am still not ready to return to the field. I am so grateful for my family, my teammates, and the Tigers organization for supporting me through this. I can't do this alone, and I hope in sharing my experience, I can touch at least one person who might be going through their own struggles and encourage them to reach out to someone for help.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch confirmed to reporters that Meadows won't play again this season. He also lauded his player for opening up about his mental health struggles.
"I commend him for doing it and am very proud of him," Hinch said, according to Evan Woodberry of MLive. "It's not easy as an athlete, as a competitor, to admit when you need help. ... I feel good about the path he's on."
Hinch said it was Meadows' choice to go public: "Maybe there's one kid out there, a teammate, an ex-teammate, someone around the league who is struggling on their own...Austin's chosen to help others while helping himself in getting to the next step in his recovery."
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) September 2, 2022
The Tigers acquired Meadows from the Tampa Bay Rays two days before Opening Day in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes. He's played in just 36 games for Detroit, with his last appearance coming on June 15.
The 27-year-old was an All-Star with Tampa Bay in 2019, his second major-league season. Last year, Meadows received down-ballot MVP votes after hitting 27 homers for the AL East champion Rays.