Chicago White Sox ‘hurler’ Adrian Houser tossed his lunch and seven strong innings of one-run baseball on the South Side.
After vomiting in the home dugout before Wednesday’s first pitch, the 32-year-old righty continued his resurgent – and regurgitant – season by snapping the Toronto Blue Jays’ 10-game winning streak.
Houser fanned only two and did yield seven hits across seven frames but surrendered just one earned run off a bunt in the second inning.
Best of all, his pre-game illness wasn’t the result of any medical issue, but rather a recurring case of nerves.
‘Adrian Houser had an issue going into the White Sox dugout, and I guess he lost his lunch, so to speak,’ White Sox radio announcer Len Kasper said explained Wednesday, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. ‘But that is not uncommon for Adrian Houser. For whatever reason, he gets an upset stomach.’
A more relaxed Houser discussed the problem with reporters afterwards.
White Sox ‘hurler’ Adrian Houser tossed his lunch, and then he tossed seven strong innings
Houser vomits on the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies at Miller Park on June 17, 2018
‘Oh yeah, that’s probably about the fifth time,’ Houser said Wednesday.
‘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.’
He actually got sick on the mound during a relief assignment with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018. At the time, then-manager Craig Counsell described the problem as the result of ‘not enough food, heat, probably a little nerves from getting to the big leagues today.’
Houser was 25 at the time of the 2018 game and was returning to the majors a three-year demotion in the minors.
Since then, Houser has occasionally expelled nervous energy (and his stomach contents) whenever necessary. Perhaps as a result, he’s enjoying a career year as a starter, going 5-2 with a miniscule 1.56 earned-run average while earning some All-Star consideration.
And Houser is in good company when it comes to pre-game vomiting.
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.
Last season, Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers vomited on the football before snapping it to unfortunate quarterback Malik Willis. Myers has since signed with the New York Jets, who would be wise to use a little hand sanitizer in the huddle.
