Winning a World Series title and World Series MVP would seemingly be a high point of a professional baseball player’s life.

Although that is certainly the case for Eureka native and former Olivet Nazarene baseball standout Ben Zobrist, who achieved both milestones with the Chicago Cubs in 2016, the weeks after those highest of highs were filled with the lowest of lows.

Zobrist touched on some of those moments in which he struggled before his Wednesday guest-speaking appearance at the Hundred Club of Kankakee County’s annual meeting.

“Part of it is the challenges of playing at the highest level and feeling that pressure, and how you deal with it,” he said. “How do you categorize it when you’re feeling it at a level you’ve never felt it before?

“I struggled with depression a couple different times in my career, and one of them was right after all the success in 2016, and a lot of people don’t know that. That’s an opportunity I get to share what happened to me and why that makes me such an advocate for doing this work on a regular basis.”

The 14-year MLB veteran also spoke about his organization, Champion Forward.

Champion Forward is focused on providing mental and emotional skills for young athletes, their parents and coaches so the athletes can gain tools needed to deal with similar situations.

Zobrist stressed the importance of recognizing the new strains that are put on youth athletes today, whether social media or the increased monetization of youth sports, and making sure these athletes have support and an awareness of possible mental health struggles.

His advocacy for mental health awareness is one of the ways Zobrist is able to give back. He grew up participating in community outreach as the son of a pastor and later had a unique ability to help different communities throughout his career as a professional athlete.

Mental health awareness is something that has been important to him in the various communities he has been a part of, and helping organizations such as the Hundred Club, which provides assistance to the families of first responders who die in the line of duty, is something he finds even more value in now that his playing days are behind him.

“These types of events and the opportunities I get to plug back into the Kankakee/Bourbonnais area, or back in my hometown in the Peoria area, or even in Tennessee where I live now, it means there’s a purpose that goes beyond your performance on the field,” he said.

“[The Hundred Club] is a group that is trying to do their best to honor those in our community that are serving every day and really out there taking care of the community on a momentary basis,” he added.

Zobrist also entertained the crowd with stories of his professional baseball career and behind-the-scenes details of the Cubs’ historic run to a title in 2016. He even signed baseballs, jerseys and photos that were given to guests as raffle prizes throughout the night.

“It’s really a testament to Ben’s character that he’s willing to come back to the area,” Hundred Club Vice President Mike O’Brien said. “... We consider ourselves fortunate to have him here tonight to speak with us, and we can recognize him and thank him.”

A main focus of Zobrist’s talk at the end of the night was that we “don’t always have the faith we need in the moment that we need it,” and it is important for people around us to provide that faith when they can in any way they can.

That is something he sees members of the Kankakee County community are willing and able to do when it comes to helping young athletes deal with mental health struggles.

“I have found there are so many people in this community that understand the need for what Champion Forward is providing,” he said. “It’s a hot bed of people that are realizing that they want to be leaders in regard to the mental and emotional wellness around a great sports experience.”