Boston Red Sox rookie Michael Chavis always didn’t have the greatest life off the field, and it seriously impacted his play throughout his journey through minor league baseball.
The 2014 first-round pick worked his way through the Red Sox minor league system and really began to struggle in 2015. The now 23-year-old had a falling out with his father that year — something he rarely discusses, according to a lengthy ESPN.com profile — and that caused him to struggle mentally.
“I didn’t go see a doctor, but I was depressed, dude,” Chavis told ESPN’s Joon Lee. “Whatever was going on away from the field, I was playing bad, and that was the first time. So when I would try to escape reality and go play baseball, I would perform horribly, which I had never experienced before. I’d never felt that before.”
During that long, difficult stretch of time, Chavis admitted he didn’t surround himself with the best people.
“Even if you’re just sitting there chilling, and someone’s like, ‘Man, today sucked,’ the next day, you might be like, ‘Today sucks too, actually,’ and it snowballs,” Chavis said.
Those past struggles, though, have helped the first baseman not only work on his personal life but as a baseball player, too. Chavis can be seen writing in his journal after every at-bat for the Red Sox, documenting what happened at the plate — including his emotions, which he admits, can be erratic sometimes.
“It’s like acknowledging that was horrible,” Chavis told Lee. “The same with the positive. I can tell myself I’m unstoppable, but after that, I gotta keep going. Gotta keep going, keep moving, keep progressing.”
Those struggles as a player in the minor leagues definitely have helped Chavis turn things around. Pouring his emotions into a journal has seemed to benefit the young slugger, as he’s batting .254 with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs on the season for Boston.
