Running the Bases Backward: Journalists Mark the Death of Jimmy Piersall

Abstract

A narrative analysis was performed on obituaries and tributes written to commemorate the career of longtime Major League player and broadcaster Jimmy Piersall, who died in June 2017. Six primary narrative themes were identified: the impact on Piersall of pressure from his father to excel, his role as mentor to other players, celebration of his decision to come forward about his experience with mental illness, the “antics” for which he was so well known, his tendency to speak his mind while on the air, and his embrace of the notoriety that attached to sharing his experiences and to the colorful behavior he exhibited throughout his various careers. The narratives affirm a limited depiction of what the experience of mental illness is actually like. Piersall did not push back against that depiction, even as he paved the way for the more robust conversation about mental illness engaged in by professional athletes and encouraged by journalists. Piersall’s impact is diminished by the fact he was so willing to poke fun at himself, to use language that would, in today’s national dialogue about mental illness, be dismissed as inappropriate. Journalism has moved on to a more serious, more scripted treatment of an athlete coming forward to discuss the experience with mental illness.