Here’s a sports hero for ya. Actually forget the sports part. Just say hero.
A man is a hero when he walks away from the thing he’s longed for all his life, because there’s a greater calling. Something even bigger than his own dreams. A place he knows he’s needed.
Yeah. Exactly like Moonlight Graham.
It’s almost a Hollywood story.
“…like coming this close to your dream…” said Moonlight Graham, looking back at his one appearance in the majors. “…then having it brush past you. Like a stranger in a crowd.”
And of course Archibald Moonlight Graham lived one hell of a life after baseball. There’s even a movie about him. All that plus the whole Field of Dreams thing.
We’ve written here before — in the midst of a lengthy post about his teammate Daniel Vogelbach — about Mike Marjama’s Moonlight Moment with the Mariners. September callup in 2017. The rookie gets a half inning at catcher in the top of the ninth in a blowout win. Game ends, no at-bats. Kid can practically hear the bus back to AAA Tacoma idling outside the clubhouse. It’s a week before his first MLB plate appearance. Three weeks before he racks up a hit. But the future holds vast promise as Marj rips a home run in his last at-bat of the last game of the season.
And 2018 starts that way too. A late injury to Mike Zunino puts Marjama behind the plate for Opening Night. But by the end of April he’s back in Tacoma. In July – just two weeks short of his 29th birthday – Mike Marjama has his real Moonlight Graham moment: He announces his retirement from baseball.
Mike Marjama has more important things to do. Mike Marjama wants to save some lives.
Like Moonlight Graham, Marj stepped across that baseline one last time with no regrets, no illusions. He spent time as an ambassador for the National Eating Disorder Association. He travels tirelessly, bringing a message of hope and validation to people all over the country. He speaks out. He gives interviews*. He addressed Congress about body confidence. He makes videos. He’s a constant presence on social media.
A review of eating disorder statistics reveals how tragic – and deadly – this hidden mental illness can be. Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, bullying, and suicide are all associated with eating disorders. The onset can be before age ten in some cases. And untreated eating disorders can lead to myriad other physical health problems, including death.
Mike Marjama knows all this. He’s a survivor himself. And he’s on a mission.
Stats also say that women seeking treatment for eating disorders outnumber men by as much as 10:1. Marj knows this leaves men with the illness feeling emasculated… but he has the stones to stand up and be visible as a man in this arena, and to inspire other men to take the same step. He relates in one interview that when he received counseling for his own eating disorder, he was often the only guy in the room. He needed a male role model. Now he is one.
Playin’ in the Dirt had tons of choices for 2018. Guys in the playoffs. Guys headed for the Hall of Fame. Guys from Adrian Beltre to Chris Taylor to Eric Thames. But over here there was no doubt.
Here’s to standing up for what matters. Not just because it’s National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, but because you took a stand and made a sacrifice for something bigger than yourself. Here’s to you, Mike Marjama.
* Marj does give interviews, but to be clear, he’s never yet given an interview to Playin’ in the Dirt. That would be awesome.
Nice angle, Mr. Dirt! In order to get traction in the traditional media (and I’m not bashing them, they have enough trouble), the story would have to migrate from Sports to some human-interest section. Glad to have read it here.