For baseball players worldwide, mental stability is as important as physical strength. A player may have the arm talent of Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, bat-to-ball skills like San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arraez or raw power like New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, but a cloudy head renders those tools useless.

Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra famously said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

Every player has a different escape from the diamond, and Indiana sophomore outfielder Andrew Wiggins finds his refuge in music. The Indianapolis native sings and plays three different types of saxophone in addition to the piano, ukulele and bass guitar.

“When guys get to campus, the first thing I tell them is, ‘You need to find a hobby,’” Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said. “So you can get away from baseball and clear your mind.”

“I get to express myself,” Wiggins said. “The ability to hear is so important. I think you can find (out) a lot about yourself just by hearing yourself. For me, that’s through the saxophone.”

Wiggins’ favorite instrument is the alto saxophone, which he often travels with. Mercer and his staff are just a few of the many people who have witnessed Wiggins’ musical talents throughout high school and college.

“I heard him playing in the hotel (during our trip to Penn State),” Mercer said. “(Assistant coach Zach) Weatherford and I went and watched him play in high school once. (He’s) just a tremendously talented musician. Music is a very different world,” Mercer added. “It’s something that he can concentrate on, that he’s good at.”

A graduate of Heritage Christian High School in Indianapolis, Wiggins played the Star-Spangled Banner before the 2023 City Championship at Victory Field. This past spring, at the end of his freshman year in Bloomington, he performed at the IU Athletics end-of-year banquet. He has graced people from all over the country with his musical abilities, but Wiggins’ introduction to music came from his mother.

“She would drop me off at school listening to music,” Wiggins said. “I wanted to play, got into band and actually heard the saxophone through my mom.”

While it now allows him to separate himself from his craft on the field, Wiggins combined sport and music in high school, participating in pep band at Heritage Christian.

“I liked how there was music to sports,” Wiggins said. “I think that’s a really cool thing.”

“I know, just by him traveling with his saxophone at times and playing different music, I’m sure that’s a great release for him,” Mercer said. “One that we all need. I like to hunt and fish and he likes to play instruments, but as long as we’ve got something else that we can do besides baseball, it keeps us healthy.”