Remembering a friend with the Fisher Cats

After the threat of storms passed by Delta Dental Stadium on Saturday—prompting a cautionary half-hour delay in the start time—it was an idyllic summer night to take in a baseball game.

My friend Brian had invited me and two other friends to be his guests in the organization’s new “Dinner on Deck” seats beside the Fisher Cats dugout, seating so close to the action that you can time the pitches along with the batter in the on-deck circle. It is a truly mesmerizing view.

However, the evening signified much more than baseball, simultaneously taking both a celebratory and solemn tone.

We were there to remember Brian’s brother, David “Dace” Walsh, who was the definition of a voracious baseball fan with an unwavering fondness for the Fisher Cats.

Since the team came to Manchester in 2004, Dace, who was a season ticket holder, took in every game he could, assiduously scoring them and never missing an out. When the pandemic shut down the season in 2020, Dace became listless and despondent without baseball. His long battle with depression was exacerbated.

In September of 2021, Dace Walsh, 57, took his own life. As is often the case in these tragedies, his friends and family never saw it coming.

This was originally going to be a column about baseball and remembrance, how the game transcends a box score. But the more I thought about how I wanted to approach this piece on my friend Dace, the more it felt negligent to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room: mental health.

Like Dace, I have also struggled with depression and anxiety throughout my adult life, and more often than not, I keep these feelings to myself. Many people with mental illness become masterful at masking their struggles with laughter and good humor, which makes it even more difficult for their loved ones to identify when the person is suffering.

For many years, people struggling with depression were told to suck it up, rub some dirt on it and stop whining, which we now know is callous and possibly fatal advice. This is especially true for men, who are expected to be stoic, strong and silent. While we’ve done a lot to destigmatize mental illness in the past few decades, we can still be doing more to bring the disease out from the dark.

If you’re struggling with depression, perhaps the best advice came from the late-actor Robin Williams, who eventually succumbed to it as well. Williams said, “If you’re depressed, reach out to someone. And remember, suicide is a permanent solution, to a temporary problem.”

If you have a loved one who suffers from depression or mental health issues, keep an eye on them. Reach out to them regularly and check in. It could save their life.

Saturday night was a wonderful experience at the game. Thank you, Brian, for bringing me along. But I think we can both agree, the one thing that would’ve made it better would have been an extra seat at that table behind home plate.