Former major league outfielder Drew Robinson announced his retirement this evening. His full statement can be found on Twitter.
That Robinson is in position to announce his retirement from affiliated ball is nothing short of remarkable. As he detailed to Jeff Passan of ESPN for an article in February, Robinson attempted suicide in April 2020 amidst a battle with depression. The incident left his right eye beyond repair, but he survived and resumed his career against all odds, signing a minor league deal with the Giants last offseason.
As Robinson explains in his retirement announcement, he’s transitioning to a new role in the San Francisco organization as a mental health advocate. He’ll now be tasked with “(helping) other players address their emotional well-being more comfortably.”
Robinson did not return to the majors with the Giants, but he appeared in the big leagues with the Rangers and Cardinals between 2017-19. He played an even 100 games at the highest level, hitting .202/.296/.359 with nine home runs. There’s no doubt Robinson’s impact on MLB and its fans has gone and will continue to go far beyond his on-field performance. MLBTR congratulates Robinson on making a successful return to professional baseball and wishes him all the best in his new role.
Hat tip to him. He had no need to share his story and hopefully at least one person can be saved because of it. Respect.
congrats, drew. truly hope you enjoy your retirement.
It’s so awesome seeing him build himself up from such a low point in his life. He is here to show people life is worth living and if anyone needs help, SERIOUSLY reach out and find help. You matter and you have purpose! Keep doing your thing Drew!
Mental health is no joke. I’m happy that Drew has come this far. I’m also happy the Giants created this position for him. It shows they care about him and the well being of their entire organization. Props.
Hoping it will turn into a league-wide thing; perhaps Robinson would be the right man to pioneer such a development. As others have said, deep respect for his determination against all odds and his efforts to help others where needed.
Drew has one of the most inspiring stories you’ll ever hear in sports. I’m glad he’s found his purpose in this world in helping others and spreading mental health awareness
Hope for nothing but the best for him
this guy would absolutely be an asset to any team as a counselor. could help a lot of other guys out.
Congrats and good luck in the future with your new position Drew.
The fascinating thing with him is how instead of his family or whomever cleaning up his suicide and trying to make sense of it, he kind of had to do it himself since he wasn’t successful. It forced him to face the reality of what he did and accept that he obviously needed help (massive understatement).
It’s almost like dying and then coming back to life. He has a lot of knowledge he can share for the greater good.
Great position for him to fulfill hopefully other positions are created internally at other organizations to help battle these types of issues. Having lived in the suburbs of Sacramento the city he was playing in, the community was very supportive of him and his story, also kudos to the giants for using the resources available to them to share his story and message. Good luck drew in your new position, you made it much further than me in baseball also so congrats on your success!
Those three home runs must of felt pretty awesome…
The timing of this is interesting, considering the Anthony Bourdain documentary Roadrunner just came out and I just got back from seeing it. Definitely need more mental health support personnel everywhere.
This is gunna be an unpopular take, but there are hundreds of people who take their own life every day that never get an ounce of recognition. A million every day with suicidal thoughts never pull the trigger. Those people are heroes who win their battle and you will never think twice about them. I’m glad that he isn’t dead yet and hopefully he goes on to do good work, but what does it say about us that we throw a documentary, a book deal, and job being an advocate at a guy for his own failed suicide? What does it say to someone doing everything right but struggling to get by, house themselves, feed themselves? I remember everyone celebrating Josh Hamilton when he overcame addiction, but we never think about all the people who chose to turn it down in the first place. Why do we only reward those who fell all the way down the well, and ignore those who avoided it entirely?
I agree. Sadly, that’s how it is though.
I understand your sentiment but I think you are kind of combining a few different topics into one rant, for lack of a better word.
However, all these things you mentioned do shine a light on American society and paint a puzzling picture. We are content with a lot of things being needlessly difficult for ourselves, whether it’s finding affordable health insurance, easily accessing mental health assistance, on and on. Why? Then on top of it, if that “someone doing everything right” you mentioned also has kids, to me that is even sadder and I feel for those children.
The US is weird.
He’s taking an advocate position within a baseball franchise because he’s uniquely experienced in what pro baseball players have to deal with and has struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts/attempts.
I mostly understand your point, but many people don’t really want to be celebrated for not killing themselves. Just as how people don’t want to be celebrated for never doing drugs. I’ve never had a drink of alcohol in my life, why in earth would I want to be celebrated for that?
It’s extremely hard to speak about suicide attempts and anyone who does so to help others should be celebrated and amplified.
It’s because we don’t hear their stories. We did hear Drew’s and, because of his own experience, he can be a help to others.
We often don’t hear the stories of others, and so we can’t celebrate them. Just be glad that there are stories to celebrate.
Very proud to call you a cardinal call me anytime
My only fear here is that Robinson is barely 1 year removed from his accident. Developing coping skills and recovering from even minor mental health issues often takes years. I hope the Giants have reasonable expectations for this role and don’t turn it into some kind of high pressure job. Obviously everyone here wishes him the best, and I am in that group, I guess I just feel it might be too soon. I am speaking from my own personal experience as a recovered drug addict and alcoholic with 9 years of sobriety. Best of luck Mr. Robinson.
Interesting point. But he also might be giving better advice now when it’s relatively fresh than in ten years when he’s basically developed one speech that he’s given a thousand times.
God bless
One of the best right handed bats I’ve seen
Quite amazing the guy played at a high level of baseball with only 1 eye. Unfortunately he lost the use of his other eye do to suicide attempt.