Baseball season is a month into the 2021 season, and MLB The Show making history with this year's release. MLB The Show 21 released almost two weeks ago and became the first of the series available on both PlayStation and Xbox consoles. MLB The Show 21 is also keeping up with the MLB season, with developers promising player rating updates every two weeks. However, the next update may have one of the strangest injury designations for an Oakland A's player.
Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin announced that 23-year old starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo would be absent from the MLB lineup yesterday. Melvin explains the injury, saying Luzardo accidentally bumped his hand on his desk while playing a video game. An X-ray on his hand determined the lefty pitcher suffered a hairline fracture in his pinky. While many may be wondering what video game Luzardo was playing, Melvin was not asked that question.
There are not many details surrounding how Luzardo was injured, other than he bumped his hand on the desk. In another case, 100 Thieves pro "Yassuo" recently smashed his keyboard during a Mortal Kombat 11 tournament after losing a first round, as sometimes games get so intense that a player can't help but let out their frustrations on a desk. It's unclear whether something similar happened in Luzardo's situation.
Regardless of how Luzardo was injured, it is an unfortunate situation. While injuries can happen at any time, Luzardo's broken pinky happening while playing video games may cause him to receive some backlash. However, professional athletes are people just like fans, and can get hurt on their off-time just like anybody else. Video game injuries may not be common, but they do happen, like in 2019 when a Super Smash Bros. player injured his hand slamming his chair at a tournament.
This is also not the first time an MLB player has gotten injured due to video games. In 2018, after developing carpel tunnel syndrome, Boston Red Sox pitcher gave up playing Fortnite to focus on rehabilitating his hand. Although the pitcher said playing video games did not cause the injury, he does say it possibly contributed to it.
The MLB season is just getting started, so the Oakland A's pitcher should be able to return for a bulk of the season. However, Luzardo may miss some of the most anticipated video game releases this year. If his injury keeps him from playing games, he may miss out on Resident Evil Village come May 7, Hood: Outlaws and Legends on May 10, and Days Gone on May 18.
