Jake Burger battled through a lot of adversity on his way to the major leagues. The Chicago White Sox third baseman tore his Achilles tendon twice in 2018 and it was an uphill battle to get back on the field.
Burger felt the effects of his injury both physically and mentally. His body was letting him down, and that was impacting his mental health.
He has since turned that adversity into a positive by opening up about his mental health, including PTSD and anxiety from those injuries, and he’s given other players, fans, and really anyone that wants to talk an avenue to do that.
Burger joined Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” and opened up about his mental health journey, including the impact that social media has on players and what he’s doing to help others moving forward.
“First you got to just be grateful that you’re in the position you are because it really is so cool. But at the same time, you have to realize we’re normal human beings, too, we deal with the same stuff everybody else does,” Burger said (15:25 in player above). “When you see the lights go on and you’re there from 7 to 10:30 at night watching us play, you still have to realize that there’s still life stuff going on that is behind the scenes. It’s hard to comprehend at times.”
Baseball is a sport unlike any other with 162 games across six-plus grueling months. On top of the physical toll it takes on a player, there’s a mental toll as well.
That mental battle has only gotten worse with the growth of social media over the years.
“I love interacting with fans and talking to as many people as I can and just hearing everybody out because I want everybody to feel heard and feel seen,” Burger continued. “That’s a tough balance because there’s definitely a few percent of the population out there that hates you and thinks you’re a terrible baseball player. It’s tough because those two percent sometimes ruin it for the other 98 percent. I think that’s why we see some guys give the cold shoulder to fans and whatnot.”
Social media definitely has its upsides with its ability to reach a lot of people with one Tweet, post, or message. However, there are downsides to that as well. It’s a fine line to walk for anyone, especially those playing under the bright lights on the sport’s biggest stage.
Burger has grown his social media following on Twitter and Instagram but it’s something he’ll shy away from during the season.
“Twitter can be the best thing or the worst thing. I love interacting with fans and something I did this year I think that I’ll continue to do is in-season I’ll delete Twitter. It’s not just the bad, it’s also the pros,” he said. “It’s also like I go 4-for-4 and everyone’s tweeting at me and hyping me up. It’s hard not to control your emotions and get excited, and then you show up to the park the next day and you go 0-for-4 with four punchouts and it’s like those same people are saying negative things. It’s definitely a wave ride.”
As recently as 10 or even 15 years ago, there wasn’t many ways for fans to interact with players on such a personal level. Instead, they took to message boards and forums. But it was the same idea.
Not only has social media’s presence grown over the last decade, but sports betting is now becoming legal in more and more states. When fans have a financial investment in a game, so to speak, it may drive them to spew more vitriol.
“I definitely think the message-board mentality obviously carried over to Twitter and I think the prevalence of sports betting has just inflamed the situation of posting negative thoughts and DMing,” Burger said. “It’s tough because my sister and wife get messages, too. They have no part of the performance out there so that’s always tough to see. I think a lot of guys just get fed up with it because they are getting personally attacked, their wives and families, and whatnot. I think it’s definitely the right call in-season to shy away from Twitter… You can build a brand on the field without having social media and then in the offseason cultivate that brand a little more.”
While some players immediately go to their phones to check their messages and social media after games, Burger also goes to his phone, but for a more cerebral reason.
“I just play chess on my phone,” Burger said. “It’s all I do.”
Burger will soon be launching his website (www.jakeburger30.com). You can join the list for insider access, and be the first to view exclusive content for all things JB30 now.
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