Blue Jays rookie Rowdy Tellez opens up on the value of opening up
Athletes tend to have a reputation for being closed off emotionally, but Blue Jays rookie Rowdy Tellez has found success by taking a different tack.
Over the past two years his mother Lori battled brain cancer, eventually succumbing to the disease in the middle of August. When Rowdy first learned of the diagnosis last year his first instinct was to internalize the pain.
“I kind of held all my frustration and my anger and it just built up,” he said on his appearance on ‘Digging in with J.P. Arencibia’ on Wednesday. “Every at-bat that I didn’t do good I tried to make up for everything I didn’t need to. You know, trying to hit five home runs in one swing.”
What resulted was a tough year at Triple-A where Tellez failed to find his footing on the field despite crushing the ball at Double-A the season prior and shooting up prospect lists.
Coming into 2018 he took a completely different approach.
“I told myself I was going to talk more,” he said. “I was going to open up about how I was feeling and I was able to speak my mind and get things off my chest.”
Deciding to allow himself to be more vulnerable allowed Tellez to find a greater level of inner peace that he felt on and off the diamond.
“[My mother’s health] was out of my control and all I could do was worry about what I could do on the field because that’s what my mom would have wanted for me. No matter what I did it wasn’t going to help her physically or medically.”
Although Rowdy’s mom has passed, he believes his inclination to open up and share his feelings will stick with him from here on out.
“Now that my mother isn’t with me anymore, I’ll still be vulnerable when I have a problem or when I’m feeling something that’s uncomfortable I can voice it and get help.”
