Striking out the Stigma with Chris Adamson and David Parkinson

By: Sam Jellinek

Monday, June 17 was an off-day for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. But for two IronPigs, Bench Coach Chris Adamson and pitcher David Parkinson, they had to make a work appearance. The trio was invited to Citizens Bank Park to participate in the Phillies initiative of “Strikeout the Stigma” which is a Phillies Community Outreach initiative focused on bringing important conversations to the forefront about the value of healthy life habits, supporting those around us, and removing the negative connotation surrounding mental health. Adamson, Parkinson, and Schwecke were selected to form a panel for a conversation centering around mental health awareness within professional sports, specifically baseball.

For the duo, the conversation surrounding mental health is one that holds a special place in their hearts, and is a topic that they each feel is absolutely critical to speak about.

“I think [being a baseball player] is more of a reason to talk about mental health. We’ve been through the ringer of it. My whole career, I’ve had to deal with mental health struggles, whether that’s performance or off-field, it’s something that when I started playing in college wasn’t something that was readily available to talk about,” David Parkinson said.

“This is something I believe very deeply in,” Chris (Tank) Adamson said. “It was an awesome opportunity to tell my story a little bit and let people know that they aren’t alone.”

Both had gone through trials and tribulations in their baseball careers, facing challenges that pushed them mentally. Towards the end of his playing career, Adamson was forced to reconcile with his loss of love for the game and how to move forward.

“For me, I essentially lost my love of the game. I still love the game as a whole, but playing the game, my last few years, I was really irrational with the expectations that I was setting for myself and it really took the enjoyment away from it. I attributed what I did as a baseball player to my worth as a human being, which wasn’t a fun place to be and it wired my brain to have a very negative bias, either with my performance or my own worth, which is not a fun place. It was something I had to put a lot of energy in to rewire that, but if I can share that message, especially with player who are probably feeling pretty similar, and let them know they are not alone, maybe I can be a resource to them,” Adamson explained.

For Parkinson, his story started while he was still in school at Ole Miss. Struggling during his Junior year, Parkinson initially reached out to a Sports Psychologist at Ole Miss who helped him with creating a base for his mental skills preparation.

“It’s huge. It’s a valued asset of the game. You look back at the history of the game, there’s people who were doing stuff like this but just under a different name. Ted Williams had his own routine and approach, Nolan Ryan as well. The greats of the game had this practices, but they just didn’t have the name for it like we do now, which is the mental skills side of it,” Parkinson elaborated.

While Parkinson navigates the mental side of the game still as a player, Adamson has the unique perspective of having been through some of the struggles and can now help the current generation of players. Imparting wisdom from his own experience, Adamson views his trials mentally as a player as an asset to him as a coach.

“Really, it’s empathy. It’s just having the players understand that when the players are struggling and don’t feel great as either a player or human, I know exactly what that feels like,” Adamson said. “There is a level of empathy just having been through it. I can be down in the trenches with them when they’re going through it, if nothing more than just being a friend and someone there to support them.

Having been through exceedingly tough times as a player and with the unique background as an International player (Adamson is from Australia), the opportunity to share the stage with some of his own players on a topic that is near to him was something Adamson took to quickly.

“I think all of us coaches bring different life experiences to the table. I thought it was just a really good opportunity with my own experiences with some of the not-so-positive things, that I could use that as something to connect with players. Show them some things that helped me and sometimes it is as little as acknowledging that some of that stuff is there,” said Adamson.

The Strikeout the Stigma panel that Adamson and Parkinson took part in was open to the public with questions taken in from the audience. The engagement between fans, normal people, and players was important for both of them as Adamson and Parkinson view the mental health conversation as a good reminder for fans, that players are people too and a conversation that includes everyone is easier to have.

“Players, they are humans first and athletes second,” Adamson explained. “I think a lot of the time in professional sports, we put athlete on a pedestal for their ability, but we put them in a box as just an athlete. Ultimately, they are just human beings who are really good at their chosen sport, but that sport shouldn’t define them. So, if there’s a level of understanding on that end, especially when things aren’t going great. It’s still a human that is driving that bus, that’s having some challenges. And in life and not just sport, being vulnerable is okay. It’s okay to ask for help. We expect the same from these guys with a swing change, so if their mindset needs a change, that’s okay to ask for help.

“Even just being up there with people I share a clubhouse with, people who not just share my same beliefs but are going through it on a daily basis, it makes it easier to talk about,” Parkinson remarked. “Easier to talk about things that aren’t easy. At the end of the day nobody likes looking weak. My own belief is that it is far from weak to be discussing these things. That’s where it makes it easier when you have a group of people talking about it. It’s the snowball effect. It’s hard to get it going, but once it does, it really open up.”