Might there be an answer to the cruel twist of fate that has shocked Shohei Ohtani’s season?
After the two-way megastar tore his UCL on Wednesday night, preventing him from pitching again this season, fans are searching for an explanation — and some are feeling confident in an unorthodox one.
One baseball YouTuber, “Baseball Doesn’t Exist,” posted a theory on X (formerly Twitter) Thursday morning that has since gone viral, alleging rap superstar Drake cursed Ohtani’s season by wearing his jersey earlier this month, spawning the next chapter of the so-called “Drake curse.”
The YouTuber lists off a series of setbacks to Ohtani’s year after the photo of Drake in his jersey surfaced in early August, writing: “8/3 — leaves start early with hand cramp, 8/13 — experiencing Arm Fatigue and misses start, 8/23 — leaves start early with Arm Fatigue, 8/24 — Diagnosed with torn UCL, won’t [pitch] again this season.”
The UCL tear is a massive blow to a historic season, in which Ohtani has hit a league-leading 44 homers with a 1.069 OPS at the plate and tossed 132 with a 3.14 ERA on the mound.
Fans are ready to tie the injury directly to Drake’s impact: athletes and teams have seen their fortunes change dramatically after he’s shown support for them.
For instance, many fault Drake for cursing the 2016 Warriors, who lost in the NBA Finals after the singer bet $60,000 on the team with rapper French Montana.
Drake also released the song “Draft Day” just days before Johnny Manziel was drafted in 2014, dedicating the anthem to his friend Manziel — and the troubled quarterback famously flamed out of the league after just two years.
The Canadian rapper has caught on to the phenomenon, trolling fans when he wore a sweater that had the logos of all four teams in the AFC and NFC Championships in 2019 as a gag.
All told, the Ohtani injury could end up being one of the most memorable examples of a Drake-scarred athlete: the Japanese superstar is set to hit free agency this offseason in what should be a historic payday.
