David Price is saying goodnight to Fortnite.
On Thursday, the Boston Red Sox pitcher insisted that playing video games didn’t trigger his carpal tunnel syndrome, but that he won’t be tapping his thumbs to the ultra-popular Fortnite title in the team’s clubhouse again.
“I’ve always played it with my teammates, during the offseason, at the field, at the hotel,” Price said, as reported by ESPN. “That’s kind of my generation. That’s what we do. If I need to shut down video games and pick up a new hobby, then so be it. But I do not think that’s the cause.”
He added: “This is just something that happened over time. This didn’t stem from any one thing. I’m born in 1985, so that’s the video games generation. Being a Red Sox is the least amount of video games I’ve ever played being in Major League Baseball.”
Price additionally stated that he saw the Milwaukee Brewers playing Fortnite on their JumboTron for whatever that’s worth, reasoning that many teams past just the Red Sox are into the hit game.
That being said, the five-time All-Star left-hander is 2-4 with a bloated 5.14 ERA in seven starts this season after inking a $215 million contract with Boston in December 2015. He hasn’t pitched since May 3, having missed the always-heated Red Sox-New York Yankees series earlier this week — a three-game set that the Yankees took 2-1. Price, 32, is slated to return Saturday, when the Red Sox continue their road series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hopefully, for the Red Sox sake, the Fortnite saga is behind them at that point.
The Fortnite drama took on a life of its own when ESPN mentioned Price’s penchant for playing video games during its broadcast of the Red Sox-Yankees game on Wednesday night, prompting the lefty to address the gaming controversy with local Boston WBZ.
?️?️DAVID PRICE?️?️#RedSox pitcher #DavidPrice denies he got carpal tunnel syndrome from playing too many video games ?️?️#WBZ #Fortnite pic.twitter.com/oIVKh0ANoq
— Scott Sullivan (@SullyBunz) May 10, 2018
ESPN talking about Price playing video games in the Red Sox clubhouse paled in comparison to Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy penning a column titled “Game on: Is David Price’s ailment linked to video gaming?” on Wednesday.
“Price is forever walking around Fenway with a target on his back because of his salary, his playoff history, his Dennis Eckersley ambush, and all the other quotes and stunts that indicate he is ill-equipped for Boston baseball,” Shaughnessy wrote in the column. “And now he misses a start in New York because of a condition that possibly was brought on by playing too many video games?”
According to ESPN, Price threw roughly 40 pitches in a bullpen session Thursday and will be treated for his carpal tunnel syndrome with a dry-needle treatment similar to acupuncture.
Let’s see how he fares Saturday in Toronto.
