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Milwaukee Brewers Pitcher Devin Williams Got Drunk, Fought a Wall, and Now Will Miss the Playoffs with Fractured Hand

On Sunday, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the NL Central division title, but the team’s reliever Devin Williams partied a little too hard afterward and broke his pitching hand.

Following the Brewers’ win, the right-hander got drunk and punched a wall. The injury may keep him out for the rest of the postseason, which is a huge blow to Milwaukee’s World Series hopes. David Stearns, Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations, confirmed the injury to reporters on Wednesday. Stearns said that Williams will undergo surgery to have a plate inserted in his hand to fix the fracture. He added that Williams’ broken hand will likely “keep him out for the remainder of the season.”

Williams is part of arguably the best relief pitching tandem in the MLB along with closer Josh Hader. The setup reliever won last season’s NL Rookie of the Year award and has had another stellar year. Williams has a 2.50 ERA along with an 8-2 record. Additionally, he has 87 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched in 2021. The duo is a huge reason the Brewers have gone 70-4 whenever they’ve led after the 7th inning. The reliever spoke to local reporters recently and admitted that he’s let everyone down by his actions.

“I went out to have a few drinks and (at) my home I was a little frustrated, upset, and I punched a wall. That’s how it happened,” Devin Williams explained, according to ESPN.

“I’m pretty upset with myself. There’s no one to blame but me,” he added. “I feel like I’ve let the team down, the coaching staff, the fans, everyone. I know how big a role that I play on this team and there’s a lot of people counting on me.”

Williams Tried to Pitch on Tuesday Before Notifying the Milwaukee Brewers of His Injury

Devin Williams already sustained a calf injury recently that sidelined him from pitching. He made his return on Sunday in the 8th and pitched a scoreless inning in his team’s 8-4 win against the New York Mets. Later that night is when he broke his hand in a drunken rage, but he attempted to pitch again two days later.

The reliever suited up to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. However, he was unable to throw and finally admitted to the Milwaukee Brewers medical staff that he injured his right hand.

“He came in, told our medical staff. We got him X-rayed during the game yesterday, got the results during the game yesterday, consulted with our doctors today. And we understand that surgery is going to be required,” Stearns told reporters.

The Milwaukee Brewers earned their spot in the MLB playoffs for the fourth year in a row this weekend. Yet they haven’t been able to get over the hump and make it to the World Series. In 2018, the team lost to the L.A. Dodgers in the NLCS. The next year, they lost to the Washington Nationals in the wild-card game. Finally, in 2020, the Dodgers swept them in the first round, which once again put their World Series hopes to rest.

They’ll look to bounce back and go deeper into the postseason this year, but things just got a bit tougher for Milwaukee without Williams in the bullpen.

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