Tampa Bay Rays hurler Jonathan Heasley did exactly that upon his return to the majors on Wednesday night in Baltimore.
Coming off a two-year minor-league detour that included a brief stint in Mexico, the 29-year-old was called on in relief with the Rays trailing the Orioles 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth.
But before Heasley could record a single out at Camden Yards, he instead upchucked his stomach contents on the mound.
And he didn’t stop at one serving. Before Heasley could escape the fifth-inning jam, he would surrender two runs, a double and a single while barfing a total of three times.
He was ultimately visited on the mound by Tampa trainers, who opted to leave him in the game for figurative (not literal) mop-up duty. Heasley would go on to give up a total of five runs on eight hits, including two home runs, as Tampa fell 11-2 to their AL East rivals.
Remarkably, this is not an isolated incident for Heasley, who recently had similar stomach issues with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. He even warned media not to be concerned ahead of his MLB return on Wednesday.
Jonathan Heasley surrendered two runs and vomited three times in the fifth inning
Heasley is seen hydrating after vomiting on an MLB mound for the first time since 2022
‘So if it does happen, don’t be alarmed, I’m all right,’ he told reporters, as quoted by The Tampa Bay Times. ‘I can usually just get it out, and I’m good and keep going. So don’t panic.’
Rays sideline reporter Ryan Bass later revealed on the TV broadcast that Heasley has battled this issue since his high-school football days.
‘He said when he used to play high school football, it would happen regularly,’ Bass said on the TV broadcast as Heasley was being evaluated. ‘He just has a weak stomach. It sometimes happens when his nerves kick up a little bit.’
Heasley previously puked during a 2022 appearance with Kansas City, and he’s hardly alone in the field of in-game regurgitation.
Current San Francisco Giants pitcher Adrian Houser vomited during a 2025 appearance for the Chicago White Sox. And as was the case with Heasley, Houser said this was a recurring issue.
Journeyman pitcher Adrian Houser has also vomited in several appearances, including this from 2018. More recently, Houser had the same problem with the White Sox last season
‘Oh yeah, that’s probably about the fifth time,’ Houser told reporters on July 9.
‘So that’s nothing new. The trainers knew. I told them when I came in. I was like, “Hey, this is a possibility.” So once I get it out, it’s all good. Ready to rock and roll. I felt a lot better after it. So I was able to settle in after that and just, you know, puke and rally.’
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and even 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell have battled the same affliction. Then there are those who spewed during games, such as Donovan McNabb, who did so at Syracuse and in Super Bowl XXXIX with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In 2024, Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers vomited on the football before snapping it to unfortunate quarterback Malik Willis.
More recently, US tennis star Coco Gauff fell ill during the Madrid Open, but that issue can be traced to last month’s stomach bug that spread throughout the WTA and ATP Tours.
