It’s unlikely that most people remember Jimmy Piersall’s baseball career for his on-field accomplishments. Most remember him for his struggles and going public about mental health.
It all started in 1952 when Piersall got into a fistfight with Billy Martin of the New York Yankees, and a scuffle with Boston Red Sox teammate Mickey McDermott followed that confrontation. Later that year, Piersall entered a mental hospital in Massachusetts. During his treatment, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After undergoing electroshock therapy, he had no memory of the games he played.
Oddly enough, Piersall was glad he went crazy. “Probably the best thing that ever happened to me was going nuts. Whoever heard of Jimmy Piersall until that happened?”
During his time with the Boston Red Sox, he wrote the book Fear Strikes Out, published in 1955. His struggles were depicted in TV and film renditions: Tab Hunter portrayed him in the CBS television program Climax! and Anthony Perkins in the motion picture version of his book. Piersall disliked the movie, especially the portrayal of his father. He also didn’t like it because the movie included events that didn’t happen before his nervous breakdown.
Jimmy Piersall stopped playing baseball in 1967. He later became a broadcaster, most notably for the Chicago White Sox, teaming up alongside Harry Caray. His tempestuous behavior continued as he criticized the White Sox players and manager Tony La Russa. He eventually got fired from that job in the early 80s. He later became a minor league outfield instructor for the Chicago Cubs until his termination in 1999.
Jimmy Piersall died in 2017 at the age of 87. Piersall’s story was praised even by medical experts, including Dr. Barron H. Lerner, a professor of medicine and population health at New York University. “Mr. Piersall’s courageous description of his struggles with manic depression, now called bipolar disorder, helped bring the disease and its treatments out of the shadows. It was a big deal 60 years ago.”
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Help is always available if you are struggling with mental health. Call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 (available 24 hours a day).
