Life and Death: Baseball Style
The odds of making the big leagues in baseball are about one in every 10,000 little leaguers. Of the million tykes who will play tee ball this spring and summer in countries all over the world, 100 will become major league baseball players. Whether you see games at Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, or on TV – when you see those dudes on the field, know that they are truly the 1% of the 1%. So, when one of them comes out and tells the world he attempted to take his own life – that story gets a lot more attention than the fact that 40,000+ per year kill themselves annually in the USA alone.
1% of 1%
Standing 6’1” and weighing 205 lbs., Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran is athletically gifted by the gods. To reach his level, work ethic and commitment are a bedrock on which his thunderbolts for arms, catlike reflexes, and thoroughbred strength get him into an arena where tens of thousands yell his name almost every night of the week. The guy batted .285 in 2024, with 21 home runs. Those legit numbers keep one in the bigs for longer than the “cup of coffee” that most players actually get. It is said that the hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a baseball, particularly one that comes to you at 100 mph from 60 feet away. As hard as this is, it had to be way, way harder for Mr. Duran to tell the world about his struggle.
I’d love to be there on June 6th when the Sox take the field at Yankee Stadium. Once the Netflix thing about this is out, be unsurprised if Jarren gets a standing O in the house that Ruth built. That’s an honor that very few Red Sox will ever get in enemy territory. Yet no matter where he goes and how loud they whistle and clap, you have to ask yourself a question. How could anyone with such skill, and so much money and fame, feel so alone that he’d consider permanently parting ways with all of it…with everyone…forever? What’s seen and what is are sometimes different. Ever have your face smile, or an accomplishment shine, while the soul whispers, ‘I’m not okay?
Yankees fand stood up for this guy - he kinda deserved it
Crutches are a telltale sign that someone needs help to get through the door. And most people, when they see a chap on crutches, grab the door. When you see a person hurting on the outside, it’s easy to help. We don’t know when someone is hurting on the inside. We’ll find out how Jarren felt when he took the field and people booed, or when talk radio got on him for a K (that’s a strikeout). I am also willing to bet that social media, online articles and posts were kicking his spiritual ass as well. Too many people think what players take off the field is appropriate and should be accepted because they wear the uniform and make the money. Don’t get me wrong – some thrived on it, like Mohammad Ali and Mickey Mantle. But others hated it, like Roger Maris, and maybe even Tiger Woods.
Pressure to perform is a real thing that anyone can have, I think, more and more now than ever. That pressure doesn’t discriminate. Jarren Duran’s baseball field is someone else’s office. It is the house's cleanliness for the stay-at-home mom, the writer's keyboard, and the Uber driver's steering wheel. The mom in the coffee shop sipping a cappuccino with a friend has to check her watch because there is someplace to be for the child who is still too young to do anything without her. Then it's cooking and laundry – and oh wait, there are some emails to send. Are you doing all you can, seemingly for everyone around you, again and again? What do you think when it's quiet and no one else is around? And what do you do?
Go out and do the best you can. Suck it up buttercup. I’d bet Jarren Duran holds himself to such high standards that when the public does their thing – complaining, criticizing, and blaming- that it hurts. I know it. No dollar amount, title, or uniform can lessen the way public humiliation can make a person feel. Anyone who thinks I have a sense of pride in saying publicly that I am doing everything possible to overcome an obstacle and become a better version of myself is wrong. It's about the last thing I want to do. And this is why I have so much respect for Jarren.
Jarren Duran will deal a decisive blow to the stigma of feeling lonely-ish. We’ll learn that eroding self-confidence leaves people questioning their worth. Public embarrassment, bitter criticism, and mocking attacks a person’s value, sense of belonging, and dignity. My son tells me that Jarren had the rifle in his hands—that’s scary.
So here’s the thing…99.9% of us won’t hit a major league fastball. We won’t make millions, stand under the lights, or see jerseys with our names for sale at Dick’s. But we’ll still know what it feels like to be cheered one day and questioned the next. We’ll still know what it means to feel like we’re letting people down — or worse, letting ourselves down — no matter how hard we try.
What Jarren did this week wasn’t just brave - it was generous. He told the truth so someone else might hold on a little longer. And maybe that someone is reading this right now – perhaps it’s you.
Don’t feel weak. Don’t feel broken. Once I realized I wasn’t alone, it started making sense. Thanks, Jarren, for doing what you did. You made a difference. And even with the accolades you deserve for having the guts…the balls (pun intended), likely more than you’ll ever know.