David Price said Thursday that video games are not the cause of his carpal tunnel syndrome but stressed he won’t play the popular “Fortnite” in the team clubhouse again “to avoid the distraction it has caused.”
“I’ve always played it with my teammates, during the offseason, at the field, at the hotel,” he said. “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.”
A longtime video game enthusiast, the Red Sox ace was diagnosed this week with carpal tunnel syndrome. He has not pitched since May 3 but is scheduled to return Saturday at Toronto. He says games are not to blame for the origin of the swelling in his left thumb, index finger and middle finger.
“This is just something that happened over time. This didn’t stem from any one thing,” the 32-year-old left-hander said Thursday. “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.”
“I saw the Indians were playing Fortnite on their jumbotron. This is very common. I know a lot of teams, a lot of guys, are really into it,” he said. “I’ve always played video games. I’ve always played it with my teammates, during the offseason, at the field, at the hotel. 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: “If that was the cause of the problem, it started back in 1997 when I got my first PlayStation when I was 12 years old.”
Sounds like Price is hooked, and I can’t blame him. Hard to quit something you’ve been doing for 20 years. Good luck trying to put the controller down.
