Trevor May has arguably been more popular for his gaming skills than his baseball skills during his playing career, bringing in a crowd while streaming MLB The Show or Fortnite.
Streamers have often gotten themselves into trouble in the past, some more innocently like Blake Snell, who found out teammate Tommy Pham was traded while streaming, and former Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard was suspended by the NBA and Twitch for using an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game earlier this month.
For May, a frequent streamer, he makes sure to maintain a certain code of conduct for his viewers.
"Yes, I'm very, very, very aware," May told Carton & Roberts about the many stories of streamers getting into trouble due to their commentary. "And I've been doing this for quite a while now. It's gotten to the point where I have to put my foot down in the chat because they want me to identify the worst umpires or really go into depth about a player that I either really like or dislike. I'm like 'guys, I'm live right now, do you really think I'm going to give you these crazy, in depth scalding answers here?' I'm going to give you something really generic and move on."
Of course, video games bring out emotions in many gamers who take their performance seriously, especially for professional athletes who are use their competitive fire for a living, but May makes sure to keep that in check, though it took time to perfect.
"There were times I get really ragey or angry and I'm like 'OK, let's keep the f-bombs to a minimum here,'" May said.
Professional athletes have had other problems on the gaming front. Fellow pitcher David Price was forced to miss a start against the Yankees in 2018 due to "a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome," with numerous reports linking that diagnosis to playing too much Fortnite. It was a major topic around Boston at the time, and May has taken careful steps to make sure he never winds up in a similar spot, which likely wouldn't go over well with his new fanbase in New York if he has to miss time with a gaming-related injury.
"I've made a lot of effort, and to be honest, it's gone a long way," May said. "That was a thing in the beginning, because I was actually hurt when it started. And it was a back issue, so I was like 'Oh, I have to make sure I'm not sitting too much and standing and doing everything I need to do.' But now I have a nice scene. I have a timer that tells me when to get up…I always have the best chairs. I've really maximized it. I play with a mouse and keyboard and not a controller so my hand is not in a claw motion, which is nice, so it's just kind of resting. My desk height is perfect for my elbow to be at a 90-degree angle, so it's perfect."
Listen to May's entire appearance on Carton & Roberts below!
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