Let’s get something out of the way:

Fortnite sucks. It’s just a bad game.

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, Jeff Passan has a crazy article at ESPN describing ex-Phillies 1st baseman Carlos Santana and an incident in where he smashed a TV with a baseball bat because his teammates were playing that God awful, overrated, trash game during actual baseball games.

Writes Passan:

When the Philadelphia Phillies lost their ninth consecutive game toward the end of last September, veteran first baseman Carlos Santana felt like he needed to send a message to his teammates who he said spent portions of the game against the Atlanta Braves playing video games in the clubhouse. Santana grabbed a bat, retreated to the room at Citizens Bank Park where the gaming took place and smashed the TV to ensure there would be no more “Fortnite” the final two days of the season.

“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.”

….

To avoid a similar situation this year, sources told ESPN, (Gabe) Kapler convened 13 players — a mixture of veterans and others considered leaders — and asked them to outline a policy that will include players coming out for the national anthem and pitchers remaining in the dugout during games.

There are quotes from Jake Arrieta later in the story that describe the in-game Fortnite sessions as not being a “consistent theme,” so it sounds like this was not some season-long epidemic, just something that happened towards the end of the year when the Phils were eliminated from playoff contention.

A few thoughts, after the jump:

  1. Santana probably missed the TV with his first swing
  2. Baseball is probably the only sport where this would actually be possible, due to how certain players are used, plus the length of the game.
  3. Other coaches in other sports have made comments about their players being too focused on Fortnite. 
  4. Whether you’re in the clubhouse or not, you’re still at work, right? Would you use your in-service day as a 9th grade English teacher to play Fortnite? Nah. You’re not teaching, but you’re doing prep work and other things actually related to educating. The MLB season is a long grind, but all you have to do if you’re not playing is sit in the dugout and chill, talk to teammates, watch the game, spit tobacco, and crack sunflower seeds.
  5. Crossing Broad writers believe Nick Williams is the Fortnite guy, since he was out of the lineup during that Atlanta game and talked about staying up late to play video games earlier that year.

Williams’ game log:

Me? Personally I think we need video of this incident. I need to see Santana smashing the TV.