Royals Pitcher Danny Duffy Reveals Battle With Mental Illness and Discusses Stigma Within MLB

Most fans have the perception that playing baseball at a professional level is a glamorous life. After all, they're getting paid big bucks to play a game they love.

But that's not the case for everyone. There's always more to it. Plenty of players struggle with mental illness behind the scenes, and Kansas City Royals starter Danny Duffy is one of them.

The veteran pitcher bravely opened up about his own battle with mental illness and the stigma that surrounds it in sports, specifically in the MLB.

Duffy, who suffers from anxiety, underwent his fair share of hazing at the outset of his career. Teammates would rag on him or tell him to shut up when he talked. During one Spring Training, they even doused his only shirt in ketchup, leaving him no choice but to wear it for the day.

His experiences were nightmarish in nature, and now he's sharing his side of the story in the hopes that nobody else has to go through the same type of pain he did. He wants them to know that they're not alone in their fight.

"I'm telling you this because I want someone else who has gone through it to understand it's not just them," he said. "This is a real thing, and some of us out here are dealing with it, man."

At the end of the day, players are more than just tools for our entertainment. They're real people with real struggles that they set aside every night to go out and play the game for a living.

Duffy deserves all the credit in the world for speaking out on a topic that otherwise would have gone unnoticed in baseball.