Fields of Fear
Fields of Fear
| 16 September 2014 (USA)
Fields of Fear Trailers

The film will tell the story of Mackey Sasser, a talented catcher for the New York Mets, who could hit, call pitches, block the plate and fire missiles down to second base but he couldn't throw the ball back to the pitcher. Through interviews with Mackey, his sports psychologists and commentators, as well as footage of his playing days and his treatment (which involved using a baseball to find the boyhood traumas underlying his career-ending anxiety), this program will look at the mental side of sports and probe what takes a player in and out of the "zone".

Reviews
Michael_Elliott

30 for 30 Shorts: Fields of Fear (2014)Another very entertaining entry in the ESPN series. This one here takes a look at the talented catcher Mackey Sasser whose career pretty much came to an end when he was unable to get the ball back to the pitcher in a reasonable amount of time. Sasser is on hand to discuss his career, which had him as a very important player but after a crash at home plate he came down with a case of the "Yips" that prevented him from getting the ball back to the pitcher. The mental side of sports is something that should really be looked at more often, which is what this short pretty much does. We see Sasser's career pretty much fall apart and then later in life he decides to try and find out why. We see him working with a couple doctors who trace his mental issues back to various traumas from his childhood. This is a very interesting short because you do get to see what an important role your mind plays in sports. There are some examples of other players who suffered from mental blocks and it's pretty incredible that it's something we don't see more often.Episode: A-

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