Rockies closer Daniel Bard starts season on injured list, cites anxiety; missed 7 MLB seasons due to yips

Colorado Rockies closer Daniel Bard started the MLB season Thursday on the 15-day injured list.

Bard — who lost seven seasons of his career while battling the yips — told reporters that his stint on the IL is due to anxiety on and off the field.

"From my experience — knowing myself — I think just taking a step back, taking time to work through things, get it right, is the best approach," <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="https://twitter.com/harding_at_mlb/status/1641560608817692673">Bard said</a>, per MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

Bard, 37, is in his fourth season with the Rockies, having spent the last two as their primary closer. He joined the Rockies in 2020 following a seven-year hiatus from MLB.

Bard started his career in 2009 with the Boston Red Sox. A first-round pick by the Red Sox in 2006, Bard posted a 3.65 ERA as a rookie then progressed into one of baseball's most effective relievers in his second season while posting a 1.93 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 74.2 innings.

By his fourth season in 2012, control issues took over. Bard's WHIP ballooned to 1.736 from 0.959 the previous season. He posted a 6.22 ERA in 59.1 innings while recording a 38-to-43 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He pitched just one MLB inning the following season, then issued 69 walks and 16 HBPs in 19 1/3 innings of minor league work with multiple organizations. He was seemingly out of baseball for good after 2013.

But he returned to MLB with the Rockies in 2020 as a member of the Opening-Day roster for the COVID-19 shortened season. He picked up a win in his first appearance while throwing 20 of his 25 pitches for strikes. He posted a a 3.65 ERA that season and led the team with six saves.

He posted a 5.61 ERA with 20 saves in 65.1 inning in his first full season of work with the Rockies in 2021. In 2022, he showed the stuff that made him an elite prospect to begin with with a 1.79 ERA, 34 saves, 69 strikeouts and 25 walks in 60.1 innings. His 0.994 WHIP was the second best of his career. He even earned some MVP votes.

Bard was a member of Team USA during the World Baseball Classic. His control issues surfaced again during a March 19 game against Venezuela. He took the mound for the fifth inning of the 9-7 USA win, where he issued two walks, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and allowed a single. He was charged with four runs without recording an out. He walked in one of the runs.

The Rockies did not specify a timeline nor address the reason for Bard's IL stint. Bard opened up on his own while speaking with reporters.

"It's a hard thing to admit," <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="https://twitter.com/d_allentuck/status/1641560509811150849">Bard said</a>, per the Denver Gazette's <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="https://twitter.com/d_allentuck">Danielle Allentuck</a>. "But I've been through this before. I have enough going on outside the game to realize what's important. ...

"I'm extremely grateful to be in an organization that understands these things and Is accepting."