Giants deal with players’ mental performance challenges

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The season is a long, arduous grind. Months and months are spent away from home. The failures heavily outweigh the successes.

It’s natural for baseball players to have mental anguish issues, and baseball teams are getting hip to finding qualified people to deal with those issues.

Over the winter, the Giants quietly hired former pitcher Bob Tewksbury as their mental performance coach, the team’s first full-time mental performance professional at the big-league level.

“Anything that’ll help them play better,” Tewskbury said of his job duties during an interview in the Giants’ dugout at Scottsdale Stadium. “Just like a hitting coach or pitching coach, I’m here to help their…