While baseball is a game that relies on physical strength and skill-sets, it is also very much a mental game -- one that comes with tremendous pressure to perform and succeed at a high level before thousands of fans in stadiums and millions more on TV and radio. On rare occasions, those pressures have contributed to players suffering mental breakdowns of varying degrees.
Jimmy Piersall
Perhaps the most famous example of a nervous breakdown in baseball history involved Jimmy Piersall, an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox who suffered from a bipolar disorder and had an on-field breakdown during his rookie season in 1952. Piersall's story became the basis for the film, "Fear Strikes Out," starring Tony Perkins as Piersall and Karl Malden as Piersall's demanding father. Piersall returned to baseball in 1953 and later became a successful baseball announcer in Chicago.
Josh Gibson
One of the greatest Negro League players of all time, Josh Gibson, won a batting title in 1942, but suffered a nervous breakdown before the start of the 1943 season and was never the same player again for the remainder of his career. That career was cut short by a fatal stroke at the age of 35 in 1947.
Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings, who played before the turn of the 20th century, was one of the greatest shortstops in baseball history -- good enough to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also enjoyed success as a manager of the Tigers and New York Giants. But during his managerial stint with the Giants in 1925, having replaced the legendary John McGraw, Jennings suffered a nervous breakdown that ended his career. Jennings died in 1928.
Tony Horton
Tony Horton was an emerging star for the Cleveland Indians, hitting 27 homers in 1969 at age 24. But in 1970, the pressure to succeed overwhelmed Horton, who exhibited several bizarre behaviors on the field, including crawling back to the dugout after popping out in a game in June of that season. Horton was removed from a game for the final time in late August, and then attempted suicide that evening. Although he survived, he was institutionalized and never played in the major leagues again.
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