Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. said he’s been receiving death threats directed at both himself and his children after Saturday’s loss against the Cincinnati Reds.
McCullers, who says he became a target of harassment from baseball fans after he allowed seven runs during a 10-run first inning, told reporters after the game that people have been sending threats to him about his performance, with some implying that they would seek to harm his two young daughters.
“I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with just as a father, I think,” McCullers said.
McCullers, 31, had recently returned to the field for his second major league start after missing the last two MLB seasons to recover from injuries in his pitching arm.
Saturday’s 13-9 loss at Houston’s Daikin Park was his second MLB game and first home game of 2025, marking his return after last pitching in Game 3 of the 2022 World Series.
“There have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me, mostly,” McCullers said. “But I think bringing kids into the equation — threatening to find them, or next time they see us in public they’re gonna stab my kids to death, things like that — is tough to hear as a dad.”
At a postgame press conference Saturday night, Astros manager Joe Espada expressed his frustration over the death threats, saying he was “really upset” to hear about them.
“It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this,” Espada said. “After all he’s done for this city, for this team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office — I got kids too, and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad. Very, very sad.”
Espada added that McCullers hadn’t pitched in two and a half years, and that fans should remember he may need some time to adjust.
“Come on, we are better than that,” he said. “We are better than this.”
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