Red Sox: Did David Price get carpel tunnel from playing Fortnite?

Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price has been scratched from his start due to a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. Is the issue due to playing video games?

Remember when you were a kid and your mother told you that playing video games can rot your brain? Nobody warned us of the effects it could have on multi-millionaire pitchers who need their hands to throw a baseball more than they need them to mash buttons on a video game controller. At least nobody warned Boston Red Sox lefty David Price.

Price has been scratched from Wednesday’s start against the New York Yankees due to numbness in his pitching hand. He was sent back to Boston for tests, which revealed a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

The cause of the carpal tunnel hasn’t been determined but the prevailing conspiracy theory in Red Sox Nation is that it was brought on by Price’s obsession with the video game Fortnite.

The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey recently wrote a story about how the popular video game has become a force inside the Red Sox clubhouse. Price and several of his teammates are hardcore fans of the game, often banding together on road trips to compete in the multiplayer game.

Fortnite is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the objective is to gather resources and weapons to be the sole survivor of each 100-player round. Gamers can pair up with a teammate, assemble a team of up to four players or go it alone.

McCaffrey’s article includes a quote from Price that sheds some light on how often he plays.

"“Let’s say we get back at 11 p.m. from a game, we’ll play until 1 a.m., 1:30 a.m., 2 a.m. depending on what time our game is the next day,” explained Price. “But day games or off days, we can put some time in.”"

How much Fortnite does it take to develop carpal tunnel? A couple hours at a time seems relatively normal. I have a roommate who is as obsessed as one possibly can be with this game, spending several hours at a time playing Fortnite. He’s not suffering from anything more than sore thumbs and sleep deprivation.

Neither are any of Price’s teammates, many of whom crave their postgame Fortnite battles. You may have noticed the likes of Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers reenacting the “Take the L” dance after a big hit. That bit of mockery comes straight from the video game. The Red Sox clubhouse is loaded with Fortnite fans yet Price seems to be the only one potentially suffering from the effects.

Manager Alex Cora was asked if Price’s carpal tunnel was related to playing Fornite. He didn’t quite deny it or confirm if the team will ask Price to cut back on his video game habits while he recovers. However, Cora did indicate that he believes the issue stems from baseball activities.

Dr. Jessica Flynn, a sports medicine doctor who provides injury commentary on NBC Sports Boston, throws more cold water on this conspiracy theory. According to Flynn, it’s unlikely that Price’s carpal tunnel would be caused by playing Fortnite. The position the wrist is angled while holding a video game controller doesn’t tend to affect the carpal tunnel the way it could using a computer keyboard.

I’m not a doctor, so I’ll trust the opinion of someone who is. Even if it does discredit a fun conspiracy.

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Unless Price is spending a ridiculous amount of time playing video games, it’s unlikely that his issues are related to his Fornite addition. If he really is playing enough for it to have caused him to miss his latest start then the carpal tunnel is the least of his worries.