How Baseball Can Promote Players’ Mental Health

By Frankie Wallace
Updated: April 20, 2022

Baseball is widely known as America’s pastime and provides constant entertainment for fans across the country. It’s also entertaining for players! Have you ever looked in the dugout during a professional game? If so, you’ll find a lot of concentration and dedication, but you’re also likely to see plenty of smiles, laughs, and players connecting with each other and having a good time.

Add that to the fact that most professional ballplayers got into the game out of passion and love, and it should come as no surprise that baseball can actively promote the mental health of those who are involved in it.

Most people understand how baseball can help to maintain physical health and why it’s important for players to stay in shape during the season. However, the mental health benefits are just as important and can have an even greater impact on a player’s well-being.

So, what are some of the mental health connections? How does baseball promote players’ mental health, and why does it matter?

It Reduces Depression

Depression impacts nearly 300 million people across the globe. The silver lining to the condition is that there are many ways to treat and manage it. While baseball might not be a clinical management technique, playing can help to reduce the symptoms of depression in a variety of ways.

First, since the sport is played outside, players can experience the natural benefits mother nature provides. Spending time outdoors has been shown to:

Reduce stress
Improve mood
Boost energy
Clear the mind

Baseball is also a team sport, and players are rarely alone. That can help anyone struggling with loneliness or feelings of isolation often associated with depression.

Finally, the sport offers a great form of exercise. Whether practicing or playing in a game, players have to be active and in good cardiovascular health to be successful. While the physical benefits of exercise are pretty obvious, it’s also great for your mental health. It can boost your mood, reduce stress, and provide a temporary distraction from negative thoughts that impact depression.

It Improves Concentration

Baseball is obviously a physical sport, but it’s also a “brain game.” It requires a lot of thinking ahead, and players need to form strategies as they go so they can stay on top of their competition.

Every position on the field and in the batter’s box requires a different type of focus. A batter needs to be able to concentrate on hitting a ball at just the right time when it’s whizzing by at 90mph. A pitcher has to know exactly how to position their fingers and where to throw the ball to strike out their opponent.

Even outfielders have to know the exact spot to run to when a ball is hit in the sky, and where to throw it immediately after it’s caught.

Baseball might not be as fast-paced as some other sports, but it’s the concentration it requires that makes it interesting. Concentration is important as it allows you to gather information more effectively and process thoughts more clearly. That can help with feelings of anxiety and can keep you from becoming overly stressed.

It Promotes Mental Wellness

If more baseball players actively promoted their mental health as well as their physical health, they would be doing something extremely beneficial for the next generation. When you think about the emotional benefits baseball provides, it goes far beyond reducing stress and staying focused. Some of the additional benefits include:

Improved sleep
Stronger academic skills
Improved leadership skills
Increased confidence

In addition to players benefitting from those mental perks, think about who else could reap the rewards – kids.

Sports, in general, can help children keep a positive mindset. Baseball, in particular, can teach children how to improve their confidence, become leaders, and reduce their stress levels in the process. While the pros can do their part to promote mental wellness, parents can help, too. You don’t have to be a professional baseball player to break out your mitt and play a game of catch with your child.

It’s especially important to monitor your kid’s mental health if you’ve struggled with depression or anxiety disorders, yourself. It’s not uncommon for children to feel impacted by their parents’ mental wellness struggles. Playing baseball is just one effective way to improve your family bonding and promote positivity for yourself and your child.

As you can see, baseball is more than just a classic American game. While the physical benefits are obvious, take the time to consider some of the mental health benefits the next time you’re watching or playing. If you find yourself dealing with anything from extra stress to poor sleep, or you’re looking for a unique way to fight back against depression, head out to the ballpark and spend some time immersing yourself in this great game.