The Atlanta Braves brought in a live wire on Twitter when they acquired pitcher Brandon McCarthy this offseason. Who knew his wife would be the one laying down the biggest words early in the season?!
When the Atlanta Braves traded outfielder Matt Kemp to Los Angeles, most focused on what the team received being in the form of future financial relief. After all, the team would immediately cut Adrian Gonzalez, and Scott Kazmir didn’t make it out of spring training with the club, so two of the veterans in the deal never played a regular season game in an Atlanta Braves uniform.
The Braves got more than just those two players in the deal, however. No, I’m not talking about Charlie Culberson, though the Rome, Georgia native has been valuable with the glove in many situations this season already. I’m talking about the guy the team slotted in their rotation right behind returnees Julio Teheran and Mike Foltynewicz and ahead of a host of young arms looking to impact the major leagues, Brandon McCarthy.
McCarthy has been known for his social media skills for some time, even rating himself as the top Twitter follow at one point in an article penned for Bleacher Report. However, his injury on Wednesday against Washington was no laughing matter (video in the link). His wife’s tweet, however, was:
Whoa so much happened. Dislocated your shoulder, made the out, popped it back in, then just walked around normal? But you still can’t do the dishes... seems fishy.
— Amanda McCarthy (@Mrs_McCarthy32) April 11, 2018
Just wowser…no sympathy at all!!
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Of course, this level of laissez faire attitude from Mrs. McCarthy certainly has nothing to do with her lack of love or concern for the Atlanta Braves righty. This family has simply been through so much that Wednesday’s injury likely seemed fairly minor.
McCarthy has seen plenty of bumps and bruises over his career, but none as scary or as difficult as the one he suffered in 2012 with the Oakland Athletics, when he was hit in the head by a line drive back to the mound. His condition initially was considered life-threatening, but he was able to make a full recovery…well, to the mound. His wife likely would have some words about whether that shot to the head was every fully recovered from as well!
McCarthy returned to the mound in 2013 for 22 starts, and in 2014, he had his best pitching stretch of his career after he was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Yankees mid-season, going 7-5 over 14 starts for the Bronx Bombers, with a 2.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a stellar 13/82 BB/K ratio over 90 1/3 innings. That performance earned him a big contract with the Dodgers, and an injury riddled time in L.A. led him to being part of the salary-dumping deal the Dodgers made this offseason.
So far this season, McCarthy looks like that Yankees version, tossing 16 1/3 innings across 3 starts, with a 3.31 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.
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McCarthy has brought a definite level of levity and professionalism both to the Atlanta Braves this season, which is good to have on a young team. Obviously, his wife wanted to ensure that she got to join in the fun as well!