Former major league outfielder Glenn Wilson recently appeared on the Inside Corner podcast with Glen Macnow and Leslie Gudel. Wilson spent four of his 10 seasons in the majors with the Phillies. The Phillies acquired him from the Tigers before the 1984 season for Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman.
Wilson said he had trouble dealing with the fact that he wasn’t performing well enough to justify the trade. Hernandez won both the AL Cy Young and MVP awards with the Tigers in ’84, finishing with a 1.92 ERA and 32 saves in 140 1/3 innings of relief. The Tigers won the World Series that year. Wilson, meanwhile, hit .240/.276/.372 and overall hit .265/.307/.401 as a Phillie. He made his only All-Star team in 1985.
As a result of his inability to live up to expectations after coming to the Phillies for Hernandez, Wilson said he contemplated suicide. He was living in a high rise after the ’84 season participating in an off-season instructional league. Wilson said he looked over the ledge and realized he could end it all if he wanted to, but decided against it. He made a point to say that was the extent of his suicidal ideation.
Wilson also discussed how he was addicted to Vicodin after his playing career was over. He said at one point he was taking up to 12 Vicodin a day.
It’s a very interesting interview -- the whole thing can be found here.