Fortnite being blamed for bad behavior in … MLB clubhouses

An increasing number of MLB teams have either made restrictions or policy changes regarding video games by players, and it’s because of Fortnite.

Though it’s not responsible for society’s ills in the way two-faced politicians would rather blame video game violence than to create smart legislative action to curtail problems, video game addiction is a real thing for many. Parents who struggle to parent their children often rather blame Fortnite for being addictive than themselves for not making enforcing gameplay limits, as well.

At the same time, video games can affect the lives of adults, too. Fortnite has very much become a way of life for MLB players in their downtime, much like playing cards, ping pong or foosball use to be enjoyed by players in the past. AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell used his winner speech time to pimp his Twitch channel and even hosted an MLBPA-sanctioned tournament with players across the league during the offseason.

Unfortunately, much like parents who can’t properly discipline their kids, there are teams and clubhouse leaders in the MLB who are starting to blame Fortnite for team problems. Earlier today, MLB reporter Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote a report on how one-time Philadelphia Phillies player and not-rock-guitar-god Carlos Santana broke a TV because players were playing the battle royale shooter during a ninth-straight loss two days before the end of the season after being eliminated from the playoffs.

If there’s something baseball players love more than anything else, it’s to make the lives of their colleagues as bad, or worse, than they had it making their way to the major leagues. Santana justified an act of violent behavior of personal property by suggesting, “We come and lose too many games, and I feel like they weren’t worried about it. Weren’t respecting their teammates or coaches or the staff or the [front] office.”

Fortnite isn’t just becoming a point of contention for people who like to pretend their unchecked aggression is justifiable; teams are starting to enact official policies. The Athletic reporter John Lott broke the story that the Toronto Blue Jays will enforce a pre-game curfew for video games in response to “too much Fortnite last year.”

Charlie Montoyo is the team’s new manager after GIF legend and respected clubhouse manager John Gibbons and the team parted ways facing a multi-year rebuilding period. Of course, video games were the reason the Blue Jays didn’t make the playoffs last season! It had nothing to do with injuries to key players, a derelict pitching rotation and the player with the highest WAR on the team sitting at 2.1.

Of course, Fortnite isn’t an issue for the Houston Astros, who last season saw teammates bond over the game en route to a 103-59 win-loss record. It’s also no surprise to see that Fortnite was named by the Boston Red Sox as a reason David Price, a guy who snaps his wrist throwing a baseball ~3,400 times a season up to 93 miles per hour, had carpal tunnel syndrome.

Video games will always be a scapegoat for those who would rather not take responsibility for their actions or would rather do anything else but address the core problems. Fortnite being the most popular game on the market has nothing to do with the downfall of bad MLB teams, but it’s interesting to see how the perception will persist going forward.