Lance McCullers even got threats to his five-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n
Author of the article:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Associated Press<\/p>\n
Kristie Rieken<\/p>\n
Published May 30, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 6 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n HOUSTON \u2014 Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.\u2019s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros\u2019 pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl.<\/p>\n \u201cShe asked me when I came home: \u2018Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?\u201d\u2018 McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. \u201cSo, those conversations are tough to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife\u2019s life and directing \u201cvile\u201d comments at him.<\/p>\n The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them.<\/p>\n It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to at that point,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Abuse increasing with rise in sports gambling<\/p>\n Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee\u2019s Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is \u201ca nightly thing\u201d for most players.<\/p>\n \u201cI think over the last few years it\u2019s definitely increased,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s increased to the point that you\u2019re just: \u2018All right, here we go.\u2019 It doesn\u2019t even really register on your radar anymore. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s a good or a bad thing. You\u2019re just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It\u2019s not just me. It\u2019s everybody in here, based on performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n And many players believe it\u2019s directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone\u2019s bet or something ridiculous like that,\u201d veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. \u201cI guess they should make better bets.\u201d<\/p>\n Hendriks has had enough<\/p>\n Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments.<\/p>\n He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it.<\/p>\n \u201cEnough is enough,\u201d he said. \u201cLike at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn\u2019t accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it\u2019s one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n What teams are doing<\/p>\n Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they\u2019ve taken steps in recent years to make sure player\u2019 families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road.<\/p>\n Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: \u201cboth the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Abandoning social media<\/p>\n For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they\u2019ve abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets.<\/p>\n \u201cI deleted it,\u201d he said of Instagram. \u201cI\u2019m off it. It sucks, but it\u2019s the world we live in, and we can\u2019t do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don\u2019t want to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n Criticism is part of the game, threats are not<\/p>\n The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that\u2019s happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there\u2019s a \u201cmoral line\u201d that fans shouldn\u2019t cross.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cPeople should want us to succeed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to succeed, but it shouldn\u2019t come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they\u2019re not safe where they live or where they sit at games.\u201d<\/p>\n Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters.<\/p>\n Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,\u201d Espada said this week. \u201cBut when we are trying to do our best and things don\u2019t go our way while we\u2019re trying to give you everything we got and now you\u2019re threatening our families and kids \u2014 now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 8<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Kansas City\u2019s Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn\u2019t experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans.<\/p>\n \u201cNow some fans, real fans, they\u2019re gonna pay for that, too,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause if I was him, I wouldn\u2019t take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.\u201d<\/p>\n McCullers wouldn\u2019t go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does make you kind of shell up a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cIt does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that\u2019s just probably the human reaction to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding a solution<\/p>\n While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it.<\/p>\n Advertisement 9<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thankful I\u2019m not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,\u201d Tigers\u2019 pitcher Tyler Holton said. \u201cBut as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn\u2019t a topic of conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it\u2019s mostly online, he added that he\u2019s had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games.<\/p>\n \u201cOutside of just simply not having social media I really don\u2019t see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, I think it\u2019s kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it\u2019s behind a keyboard and there\u2019s really no repercussions, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links Sports Baseball MLB Lance McCullers even got threats to his five-year-old daughter. 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Lance McCullers Jr. of the Houston Astros walks to the dugout at the end of the second inning against the Chicago White Sox. Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/logo-identity-tsun.svg.svg+xml\"){kind=logo}
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