2018 Phillies Faced Clubhouse Issues Because of Fortnite

According to reports, the Philadelphia Phillies dealt with some turmoil in the clubhouse last season. Why Fortnite is rapidly becoming a problem in baseball.

Late last season, the Philadelphia Phillies, who looked promising earlier in the year, went on a dismal 9-game losing streak. The timing couldn’t be worse for the team, ultimately causing them a playoff berth and burying them in the NL East standings to 3rd place.

To make things worse, Jeff Passan has reported that during this losing streak, and throughout the season, some players would gather after games to play Fortnite. However, after losing their 9th consecutive game by the score of 2-10, veteran 1B Carlos Santana took it upon himself to make sure video games wouldn’t be played after games anymore.

So what did Santana do? He grabbed a bat and smashed the TV to smithereens.

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"“I see a couple players — I don’t want to say names — they play video games during the game,” Santana told ESPN. “We come and lose too many games, and I feel like they weren’t worried about it. Weren’t respecting their teammates or coaches or the staff or the [front] office. It’s not my personality. But I’m angry because I want to make it good.”"

This isn’t the first time Fortnite has made it into the headlines in regards to MLB. Also, last season, Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price missed a start against the New York Yankees after being diagnosed with a mild case of carpal tunnel.

Many speculated that Price, a video game enthusiast, may have been logging in too many hours on Fortnite. In regards to the injury, Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t rule out Fortnite as being the cause. In fact, he went as far as to say that he would talk to Price about playing too many games.

According to NBC News, “The game is what’s known as an open-world survival game, in which players collect resources, make tools and weapons, and try to stay alive as long as possible.” What’s more, per PC MAG, over 70% of Fortnite players play the game for SIX or more hours each day.

The phenomenon is so large, that MLB has made an effort to embrace the video game. In fact, Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, hosted an event called “FortDay” last season in which pitcher Trevor May and a few professional gamers played in front of fans.

Even AL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell joined in on the fun, hosing an MLBPA Fortnite Tournament in Las Vegas this winter.

The fact of the matter is that the game is here to stay. Something tells me, however, that the Phillies won’t be the last team to face turmoil over the game.