Aubrey Huff Anxiety Disorder, Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff's sudden disappearance was explained Wednesday when the team placed him on the 15-day disabled list with an anxiety disorder.
"He's gotten some treatment and will continue to get treatment," manager Bruce Bochy said before Wednesday night's 4-2 loss to the Reds. The Giants helped arrange the help for Huff, 35, a stalwart and emotional spark on the 2010 World Series championship team whose play has declined since.
Huff joins a small but high-profile list of major-league players who have been sidelined by anxiety in the past several years. Those players include Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, the 2010 National League Most Valuable Player; pitcher Zack Greinke, the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner; and former A's pitcher Justin Duchscherer.
Jimmy Piersall, a major-league outfielder in the 1950s and '60s, wrote about his battle with bipolar disorder. His story was made into the 1957 movie "Fear Strikes Out."
Speculation about absence
Huff declined to comment when reached by text but said he will address the situation when he rejoins the team Friday or Saturday in San Francisco.
Huff went home to Tampa, Fla., Monday amid speculation that he skipped out after an embarrassing moment in Saturday's game against the Mets in New York. He played second base for the first time in his career and made a key mistake that contributed to a loss.
He has dealt with difficult issues. When he was 6, his father was murdered in Texas. According to court records, Huff is going through a divorce in Hillsborough County, Fla., where his wife, Barbara, filed for dissolution of their six-year marriage on Jan. 31. They have two children.
Furthermore, Huff has absorbed much criticism from Giants fans for his play in 2011 and so far this season.
Bochy said he spoke to Huff on Wednesday and could not speculate on whether Huff's anxiety was triggered by baseball or his personal life.
"I don't know if he knows," Bochy said. "It could be both."
Bochy, a big-league catcher from 1978 to 1987, said mental-health issues are not uncommon in baseball, just more public now.
"These players, they deal with pressures of life, whether it's home, personal or on the ball field," he said. "I'm sure it was there when we played. Guys probably weren't as comfortable about it and weren't as likely to talk about it openly."
Spilling onto the field
Ben Bernstein, an Oakland performance coach and founding member of the California Center for Sports Psychology, said anxiety disorders can affect athletes on the field.
"What happens with some people is, negative thought patterns can kick in if they get too excited and then they start worrying about it," Bernstein said. "This negative thought pattern can increase the anxiety and impede the performance: 'What if I don't do well? What will happen to my job?' It can come from physical symptoms or a negative thought pattern."
Bernstein said the problem is "definitely treatable."
Duchscherer pitched for Oakland from 2003 to 2010 and was a two-time All-Star. He played with Huff in the Maryland Fall League in 1998.
Duchscherer said by phone from his Arizona home that he was weighed down by myriad issues that caused his depression and anxiety.
"Not only was I playing baseball and competing at the highest level, I was also going through a real bad divorce with children and trying to come back from surgery," he said. "Baseball is hard enough without all of that going on."
Duchscherer said he first had symptoms in 2006 but did not get help, from a team psychologist, until 2009. He was to fly from Phoenix to Sacramento to pitch in a minor-league game that summer as part of his rehabilitation from shoulder and back injuries but "froze" at the airport and didn't get on the plane.
"I tried to be a tough guy and not talk about it," said the pitcher, who is now 34, fighting through arm injuries and hoping to make a comeback.
Teammates surprised
After Wednesday's loss, Giants expressed surprise at the reason Huff was placed on the disabled list. Bochy had not yet addressed the team, though he plans to do so.
"He seemed normal," fellow first baseman Brandon Belt said. "He didn't mention anything wrong. The team is worried about him. We all texted him to let him know we're here for him if he needs us."
Pitcher Barry Zito did not know what happened until told by reporters.
"You guys see Huffy like we do," Zito said. "He keeps everyone loose in the clubhouse and he reminds us all the time to have fun. I'm not sure what to make of this."
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