Jimmy Piersall, the colorful All-Star outfielder who famously was hospitalized with mental illness during his playing career and detailed his struggle in his book turned movie “Fear Strikes Out,” died Saturday at the age of 87.

Piersall, who died at a care facility in Wheaton, Ill., following a months-long illness, spent 17 seasons in the majors with five different teams, which included a short stint with the 1963 Mets. During his 40 games with the second-year franchise, Piersall rounded the bases backwards after hitting his 100th career home run on June 23, 1963.

Before Piersall earned two trips to the All-Star game, and collected two Gold Gloves, his career was nearly derailed following an emotional breakdown during his first full season with the Red Sox in 1952. Piersall was admitted to a mental hospital in Massachusetts, where he would remain for six weeks, and undergo shock treatment, for what was later diagnosed as bipolar disorder.

Piersall returned to the Red Sox the next season, and finished ninth in the MVP voting, remaining with Boston through the 1958 season. In 1955, he released “Fear Strikes Out,” in hopes of erasing the negative perceptions associated with the rarely discussed subject of mental illness.

“I want the world to know that people like me who have returned from the half-world of mental oblivion are not forever contaminated,” Piersall wrote.

In 1957, Anthony Perkins portrayed Piersall on screen in “Fear Strikes Out,” though the subject of the film later criticized its unfair portrayal of his father, John.

During his career, with the Red Sox, Senators, Mets and Angels, in which he compiled a lifetime .272 average, the unpredictable Piersall often drew attention for his antics, which included getting into a fistfight with the Yankees’ Billy Martin, imitating St. Louis Browns pitcher Satchel Paige’s wind-up, and making pig sounds at the legendary ace, and crying in the dugout after manager Lou Boudreau told him that he wouldn’t play.

Piersall retired 1967, then most notably spent time as a broadcaster with the White Sox in his post-playing career, though he was fired in 1983 for being too critical of the team. Piersall also appeared in an episode of “The Lucy Show,” with Lucille Ball, and worked as a minor league baseball manager.

Piersall is survived by his wife, Jan, and his nine children.