The American sports fan loves to psychoanalyze professional athletes. Some guys have heart, some guys are just having fun out there, some guys can't handle the pressure, and so on and so forth. Everybody loves to believe that they understand just what's going on in the minds of the players they're watching on TV, even though, generally speaking, we don't have a damn clue. We don't know any more about the mind of the average professional athlete than we do about the mind of the average duck, and pretending like we have any idea can do far more harm than good.
However, there are certain exceptions, and our very own Ian Snell is one of them. Ian Snell requested a demotion last year from Pittsburgh to AAA Indianapolis. He didn't want to come back up, even after having extraordinary success in the minors. He admitted that there was too much negativity in the bigs, that he couldn't let things roll off his back, that the environment he faced as a Pirate made him depressed. It doesn't take a whole lot of detective work to figure out that, as a Pirate, Ian Snell was unhappy. Exceedingly unhappy.
Almost from the day he arrived in Seattle, Ian was smiling. That's one of the reasons he was brought here in the first place - that he could use a fresh start, that playing for a new team far far away from his old one would allow him to lighten up and re-discover what once made him successful. Ian Snell has enjoyed his time as a Mariner, and even described himself as "giddy" the other day. Giddy. Ian Snell. It is plainly evident that Snell is a great deal happier in Seattle than he was in Pittsburgh.
Snell didn't pitch well after coming over. As a matter of fact, he pitched rather poorly, walking more batters than he struck out and posting a 5.23 FIP. He looked a lot like the Ian Snell they saw in Pittsburgh earlier in the year. But, okay, let's say he was still adjusting to his new surroundings. It's hard, getting traded. It stresses you out. You have to move, you have to learn new teammates and new coaches and new restaurants, new friends - there's hardly enough time for a struggling pitcher to work on his pitching, at least at first. So we can kind of give Snell an excuse for failing to impress down the stretch.
But here's my question: what if Snell doesn't improve in 2010? What if he keeps on struggling to throw strikes? What if batters keep destroying his fastball? What would that tell us about the relationship between happiness and success?
Would it tell us anything?
Ian Snell could very well go on to have a bounceback season. The M's think he has it in him. I do, too. He is in what's almost an ideal environment for a player in his situation. If he can rebound and help the team, it will confirm many of the beliefs and suspicions we've had all along.
At the same time, though, it's fascinating to me to think about the implications if he doesn't. If you take perhaps the unhappiest player in baseball, and you move him to a warm, supportive environment, and he enjoys it there, and he doesn't really get any better...I dunno. I feel like that would mean something.
0 recs | 20 comments
SSS
hejuk - March 12, 2010
Wouldn't it just mean that there's something wrong with his mechanics?
And that there isn’t necessarily a link between happiness and success on the baseball field?
katal - March 12, 2010
Are you suggesting
That team chemistry isn’t super important?
BQueezy - March 12, 2010
I'm not actually suggesting anything
Jeff Sullivan - March 12, 2010
I don't know, I think this was an excellent point.
MT Olson - March 12, 2010
Being a tad sarcastic
This is an interesting case to keep an eye on, in all seriousness. It may or may not tell us a lot
BQueezy - March 13, 2010
Provoking a thought, not suggesting
What if the story line, laid out in front of us, turns out to be wrong? What other assumptions come into question then?
lokiforever - March 12, 2010
I am certain every time I look at a duck, I know it wants to take a dump on my face or my car.
I can see it by the way they waddle around and quack in my general direction.
Wilder. - March 12, 2010
Luckily for us, Ian Snell is pigeon-toed.
Nobody knows what is going through his mind.
Wilder. - March 12, 2010
.
Sounds like Carlos Silva. Send Snell to the Cubs!
ThundaPC - March 12, 2010
Except Silva was a giant douchebag and Snell is probably a perfectly good person, just emotionally unstable
Corco - March 12, 2010
Idiotic comment
One of the traits of an emotionally healthy person is the ability to assess their situation and realize they need to make a change before they drown. It’s the unstable and the untested who slog ahead, denying a reality that isn’t just staring them in the face but truncheoning them to a pulp while they pose that it’s just a minor problem that they can fix if given enough time and help.
++++++++
It seems to me that what Snell did was actually a sign of great emotional stability and maturity. I fully recognize that it was probably not an action that would make him a good ballplayer. But it is a totally appropriate response for a person who does have a grasp of his personal limitations and his personal demons, and who realizes that if he stays in his current situation he is going to implode.
++++++
And that is a mark of personal strength and integrity, not a mark of weakness. Looking back on my life I certainly rue some key occasions when I should have said “this is more than I could handle” instead of hunkering down and trying to force my way through the situation. The world would be a far better place if more people recognized they were drowning and addressed the situation instead of “manning up” until they turned a manageable problem into an disaster.
Steve Nelson - March 12, 2010
You may not like the comment but calling it idiotic is totally out of line
You can disagree without getting pissy about it. Besides, describing Snell as emotionally unstable was completely ancillary to the point he was making.
Bearskin Rugburn - March 13, 2010
In general...
do players who are traded play better or worse? Do players who get traded overperform or underperform what we would project them to perform?
Edgar for Pres - March 13, 2010
Yes
Fett42 - March 13, 2010
I've tried to answer this question many times: What would make the Mariners a contender this year?
And often my answer goes to: Ian Snell bouncing back to being a stable/solid pitcher. If he can establish himself as a solid number-2-level pitcher (even though he’ll be lower in our rotation), we could witness something special.
sirbrianwilson - March 13, 2010
What if Snell doesn't improve in 2010? What would that tell us about the relationship between happiness and success?
It would tell us nothing, because everything is contextual. Or put another way, the sample size is too small to determine anything conclusively.
Menthu Ra - March 13, 2010
Only if we assume that his bad pitching is not a result of bad habits he picked up while he was depressed.
Something I don’t think we can do. But it should be something fun to watch this year at least. I’m okay with the “happiness made me succeed” storyline if it occurs. The opposite would be kind of boring.
CapSea - March 13, 2010
In fact, if he is successful I think that would be extremely interesting.
I don’t think you could give credit to emotion. Pitching coaches would play a role. But happiness could affect the ability to learn, among other things. I hope he’s successful just for the brainstorming session. I still think the opposite would be boring.
CapSea - March 13, 2010
When you're happy it's easier to be motivated
To overcome bad habits, frustrating setbacks, and to accept criticism. You’re willing to work harder. Not as hard as when you’re angry, in my experience, but harder than when you’re depressed.
wandergeist - March 13, 2010
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Lookout Landing to post a comment.