Jim Piersall, 87; outfielder overcame mental illness

BOSTON (AP) — Former major leaguer Jim Piersall, who bared his soul about his struggles with mental illness in his book "Fear Strikes Out," has died. He was 87.

Piersall died Saturday at a care facility in Wheaton, Illinois, after a monthslong illness, according to the Boston Red Sox, for whom Piersall played for seven of his 17 seasons in the majors. He was surrounded by his family including his wife of 35 years.

Piersall's on- field antics when he first broke into the majors with the Red Sox fulltime in 1952 cracked up fans and provided fodder for newspaper columnists. In one game against the St. Louis Browns, he made pig noises and mocked the odd throwing motion of aging Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige.

But Piersall also had furious arguments with umpires, broke down sobbing one day when told he wouldn't play and got into a fistfight with the New York Yankees' Billy Martin at Fenway Park, followed minutes later by a scuffle with a teammate.

"Almost everybody except the umpires and the Red Sox thought I was a riot," Piersall said in the 1955 autobiography, later made into a movie starring Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden. "My wife knew I was sick, yet she was helpless to stop my mad rush towards a mental collapse. The Red Sox couldn't figure out how to handle me. I was a problem child."

He played 56 games in the majors before being admitted to a mental hospital with what was later diagnosed as bipolar disorder.

His family said he suffered a nervous breakdown amid the pressure of his first full season with the Red Sox when, at age 22, his manager shifted Piersall's position from outfield to shortstop.