Following up on an incident where Houston Astros' starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. received death threats after a start against the Cincinnati Reds last month, the Houston Police Department has revealed the unexpected source of the terrifying messages.
In an update shared with Amos Morale III and Chandler Rome of The Athletic (Subscription Required), a spokesperson for the Police Department told the reporters that it was a man who was overseas, and was “frustrated and inebriated when he lashed out on social media." The report did mention that individual was remorseful, and asked that his apologies be sent to McCullers Jr. and his family.
The start in question was McClullers' outing against the Reds on May 10. It was an outing where McClullers failed to make it out of the first inning, giving up 7 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks.
Given that the individual is overseas, police have yet to file any charges in their investigation. Mike Florio Jr. of Pro Football Talk highlighted that with the individual being overseas, that adds a level of complexity to the situation if there were to be charges filed.
Lance McClullers Jr. can hopefully move forward after horrific incident
With there now being some form of closure, the hope is that McClullers can move forward with a focus on the Astros' season and his success. However, it's a mark that clearly will leave an impact.
“You fail on a very large stage. A lot of eyes, and there’s nowhere to hide,” McCullers told reporters last month. “At the end of the day, I just want to do my job and be a good pitcher for the Astros. I believe I will get there. Having to worry about that, having to worry about leaving town and leaving them and things like that or dropping her off at school, there should be some type of decency.”
In his three starts since the outing against the Reds, McClullers has posted a 3.14 ERA while averaging nearly 14 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.