SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Rockies reached across town this week to hire psychologist and former NFL linebacker Dr. Rick Perea as their mental skills coach, a job with immediate concerns for club.
Perea also works with the Denver Broncos as a sports performance consultant, helping players, including Brock Osweiler, and executives. He’ll continue working with both teams.
With the Rockies, Perea replaces Andy McKay, who left the Rockies in October to become the Seattle Mariners farm director.
Perea will focus on the Rockies’ major-league roster out of Denver.
“A lot of people recommended him,” Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger said. “He’s very high-energy. We thought we could utilize what he does to help our guys.”
The Rockies leaned on McKay to help salvage the career of pitcher Tyler Matzek, who is sidelined again during spring training with what the team calls performance anxiety. Matzek posted a 4-2 record with a 1.55 ERA in six last-season starts in 2014, but he fell apart in 2015, was demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque, then removed from competition after severe control issues.
Last week, Matzek walked two and allowed a home run in three consecutive at-bats before he was pulled in less than an inning. The Rockies have not scheduled him for another appearance.
Major League Baseball requires each team to have a program in place to deal with behavioral health issues. Perea will fill that role.
“Anxiety and the mental side of the game used to be taboo in the big leagues. Nobody wanted to talk about it,” Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich said in December. “Now we realize that it’s part of the game and we address it in a more organized way.”
Read the full article here: http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_29615915/rockies-hire-broncos-rick-perea-mental-skills-coach
