Apparently, ‘Fortnite’ no longer is being played much in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse.
According to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, multiple players have indicated that the team determined the amount of ‘Fortnite’ being played in the clubhouse had become counterproductive toward the team’s success on the field. Last year, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reported a number of lockers were outfitted with video game monitors, controllers and headsets — allowing players to pick up the game whenever they pleased.
The list of Sox players known to dabble in ‘Fortnite’ includes plenty of big names, like David Price, Chris Sale, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Matt Barnes and Eduardo Rodriguez, among others.
Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who’s also been known to play a little ‘Fortnite’ before games from time to time in the past, said he hasn’t seen the game being played in the clubhouse this year. But he doesn’t seem to mind the change.
“I think everybody, in general, understands that rule,” Eovaldi said to Bradford. “When I came over here last year I was surprised because when I was with the (Tampa Bay) Rays you didn’t do that. When I came over here we’re in first place, everybody is having a good time and getting the job done. Now we have other things we have to focus on and tend to.”
The Sox aren’t the only team to cope with video game issues over the last year, either. The Toronto Blue Jays also have put restrictions on video games in the clubhouse, implementing a curfew on video games for the 2019 season.
Back in September, Carlos Santana reportedly smashed a flat-screen television screen in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse out of frustration over the amount of ‘Fortnite’ being played in the clubhouse.
Eovaldi thinks a little less Fortnite in the clubhouse probably could be a good thing.
“I think there is a time and place for that, too,” he said. “Maybe if we were doing a little better maybe we would be doing it, but you can’t be losing and playing ‘Fortnite’ in the clubhouse.”
It’s unclear when the stop went into place, or if it’s had any effect on the Red Sox’s gameplay. But based on the way their season has started, it’s probably not the only problem they need to solve.
