For some reason, there is a growing group of fans that thinks it is okay to make death threats against Major League Baseball players. Most of the threats appear to relate to fans and gambling.
Such was the case recently for Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott, who gave up a two-run home run to Philadelphia Phillies hitter Edmundo Sosa. The Dodgers, who were ahead 3-1 when he entered the game, would go on to lose to Philadelphia 4-3, and Scott was charged with the loss.
Following the loss, the relief pitcher’s wife Maddie Scott shared on Instagram some of the death threats directed at their family, including the couple’s newborn baby.
“When did it stop being a game?” the New York Post reports she wrote on her Instagram Story while responding to a message from a fan who told her to “gun shot your family tonight.”
“I don’t speak out often. Ever actually,” she added. “I promise you, you don’t know what it’s like unless you’re living it.”
In a follow-up post, Maddie Scott wrote, “The unfortunate reality in case you were curious.” In the post, she shared a screenshot of six comments from a single fan who threatened her husband, their son, and their new baby.
“Hope this mutt d i e s soon,” read one of the comments referring to a photo of the Scotts’ child. Another said, “I hope you get home to your family lying in puddles of their own blood.”
Another comment on a photo of Tanner and Maddie Scott read, ““Hope it’s a still b i r t h.”
The threats against Tanner Scott are just just the latest in a growing trend
In May, St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryne Stanek said in an interview that he gets “death threats all the time — every day.”
“It’s not anything that every baseball player doesn’t deal with all the time. Like, ‘You cost me my parlay, I hope your family dies,” he continued. “Gambling in baseball is doing nothing but making the day-to-day lives of players substantially worse.”
Last season, then-22-year-old Toronto Blue Jays rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage had to address the “hate” his family and those close to him had received. New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler posted a message on social media addressing attacks on his family after one of his postseason starts.
Francisco Lindor’s wife revealed death threats her husband had received. So did Carlos Rodon’s wife.
A fan also threatened Astros starter Lance McCullers and admitted the threat was related to a gambling loss. Liam Hendricks, who, like McCullers, was making his return from a long-term injury, also saw himself and his family receive death threats.
The Minnesota Twins hired a former Minneapolis police officer on staff to deal with the threats that MLB players have received.
“It’s pretty common — definitely with pitchers,” the Twins’ director of security said. “Sadly, it is a postgame routine.”