FanHouse SportsPsychology

The sport of baseball can be a very frustrating one for those who play it. If you hit .300 on a season, you would consider it a pretty good year, yet you still "failed" 70% of the time you stepped to the plate. It doesn't just affect hitters, either, as teams can struggle through a season. Just think if you play for the Seattle Mariners.

It's May 31st, two months into the season, and you're 21-35 already 11.5 games behind the Angels. Your season is over, yet you still have to play 106 more games. That means you have to show up at the park everyday for the next four months, fail repeatedly, and do it all for naught. It's enough to drive a man crazy, which is why some teams are now employing the services of sports psychologists.

Like the Royals for instance. The Royals haven't seen the post-season since they won the 1985 World Series, and have finished over .500 only twice in the 14 year history of the AL Central division. In some way, you have to figure that the constant losing by the organization has to invade the psyche of those who play for the teams, whether consciously or subconsciously. Which is exactly where the psychologist gets involved.

Jorge Julio, whose struggles this season have been well-documented, is currently fighting a calf injury that has kept him on the DL. After losing his closer's position earlier in the year, it's probably a positive for the Marlins that Julio has been bench-ridden for a little while here.

While Julio tries to get his house in order, he's going outside the clubhouse for a little help:

Julio has met with Dr. Jeffrey Fishbein, the Deerfield, Ill.-based sports psychologist who has served as the Marlins' performance enhancement consultant the last four seasons.

"He's a good guy," Julio said. "Sometimes you need somebody to talk with. It helps relax your mind. They help you reflect. You look for a little support and sometimes you just want to relax your mind with someone. In baseball, it's not just interacting with your teammates. Sometimes you need to talk with other people and they give you a different perspective."

Just about every team, and a growing number of individual players, have a sports psychologist or performance enhancement coach on the payroll. Julio said he worked with the Mets' consultants as well.

"Going well, going bad, they would always come and get to know you," he said.

Why not, right? It isn't much of stretch to assume that at least some of Julio's problems this season could be related to his mental state; why not try and get to the source of the problem with a professional? Of course, I would argue that you can learn everything you need to know from watching an episode of The Sopranos, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

Previously on the FanHouse:
Jorge Julio Tag