Yankees' Jameson Taillon Says MLB's Focus on Mental Health Has 'Come a Long Way'

New York Yankees pitcher Jameson Taillon would like to see Major League Baseball continue to improve its focus on the mental health of players, but he's pleased with how far it's come in recent years. 

Taillon told reporters on Friday that the sport's mental health focus has "come a long way" since he entered professional baseball in 2010:

MLB teams have added mental health coaches to their staff, including in the minor leagues, in an attempt to provide players and other coaches with an avenue to help manage any potential issues they might have. 

Sports Illustrated's Emma Baccellieri wrote last July that mental health coaches were working with players while the season was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic: 

"They instruct players on everything from meditation to goal-setting to managing anxiety. In a normal season, that usually means regularly scheduled group sessions to cover specific subjects (like, say, confidence one week, and focus the next) paired with additional one-on-one work. But since baseball shut down in March, coaches have translated these efforts to a different context—navigating life in a pandemic while preparing for the uncertainties of an unconventional season."

Tampa Bay Rays mental performance coach Justin Su’a told Baccellieri a big part of his job "comes down to communication—being able to talk to players and coaches and everyone throwing their heads together and saying, OK, what are potential obstacles?”

MLB has also established a professional outreach program that provides players with confidential service in order to address various issues, including stress and anxiety.