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Peak newsletter | This is The Athletics weekly newsletter covering the mental side of sports.
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I cant think of another role in sports like that of a closer in baseball.
They sit around, watch the game, wait their turn and then enter for the final outs only if their team has the lead.
Advertisement If they close out the win, theyve simply done their job.
If they blow the save, theyre the story of the game.
They dont decide every game, but they also dont appear in many games where they dont play a deciding role.
Its a tremendous amount of pressure.
Imagine if a basketball player came in only to take game-deciding shots in the final minute.
Or if a golfer stepped onto the green only for the tournament-winning putt.
Consider all of that when you read this quote from former closer Eric Gagne: I love to suffer.
Gagne once said that to a mental performance coach, who then told it to me.
I was so interested that I texted Gagne to see if he would explain that mindset.
Our conversation was one of those little moments that remind me why I love this job.
Before I go any further, some context on Gagne: For a time, he was among the most dominant closers baseball has ever seen.
During a stretch that lasted nearly two years, from August 2002 until July 2004, Gagne recorded 84 consecutive saves for the Dodgers without blowing a game.
Its still an MLB record.
The unique thing about Gagne isnt that he didnt feel pressure and all the emotions that come with it: fear, nerves etc.
Its how he thought about it.
As he told me: Feeling the stress, feeling the passion, feeling the fans it was a privilege.
Youre put in a situation where you can feel alive.
Not a lot of people get that type of adrenaline, that type of fear, that type of pressure.
And how I handled it was just to take it in.
Dont be afraid of feeling feelings.
Dont be afraid to be afraid.
Thats how I see suffering.
I see it as a badge of honor.
Gagne said he felt pressure to deliver for his teammates, for the fans.
He didnt try to suppress the emotions that came with that pressure.
He acknowledged them, then turned them into something positive, a trait he learned from his parents.
Advertisement Embrace it, he said.
Take the stress and all that as a badge of honor.
Something that a lot of people arent able to do.
For me it was a privilege and honor to be in that situation.
In fact, Gagne learned that the stress could work in his favor.
A failed-starter-turned-reliever, Gagne realized that he focused more when he was under pressure.
He was more locked in; he paid better attention to the details.
He actually believed it made him perform better.
Its why he can say something like this and believe it: Fear is a good thing if youre not afraid of it.
Thats what he teaches the young baseball players he works with: Fear doesnt have to be an enemy; it doesnt even have to be a negative feeling.
Gagne was probably just as uncomfortable in those moments as most people he at least told me he was uncomfortable but that was OK.
That was all part of the experience.
If you really think its a privilege to suffer, he said, thats where the key is.
To me, thats 100 percent why I was successful in my role.
He did say, however, that he still gets more nervous and afraid before public speaking than he ever got on the mound.
Go figure.
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