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Devin Williams Discusses Last Year’s Season-Ending Injury

By Darragh McDonald | January 5, 2022 at 10:31pm CDT

The most recent news about Devin Williams was from October 5, with Williams having undergone surgery on his pitching hand, which he had broken when punching a wall the week before. At the time, the Brewers had finished their regular season schedule and were a few days away from starting their NLDS matchup with the Braves. There was still hope then that Williams could pitch in the World Series, if the Brewers were able to make it that far. Unfortunately, it was their opponents in that series who made it to the World Series, with the Brewers falling to the Braves.

It’s impossible to say whether the Brewers would have fared any better in the alternate reality where Williams doesn’t punch that wall, but it’s hard not to wonder. He had an incredible breakout during the shortened 2020 campaign, throwing 27 innings with a miniscule ERA of 0.33 and an absurd 53% strikeout rate. It would have been impossible for Williams to maintain that level of dominance in the larger sample size of a full season, but he still pitched well enough to prove that it wasn’t a complete mirage. Over 54 innings in 2021, he put up an ERA of 2.50, along with a 38.5% strikeout rate, still well above league average. But the Brewers had to head into the playoffs without him, due to the actions of Williams himself.

Now three months later, Williams sat down with Will Sammon of The Athletic to discuss the incident and the events surrounding it. As detailed by Sammon, the incident took place the night of Sunday, September 26, after the Brewers clinched the NL Central, with the post-game celebrations that started in the clubhouse eventually making their way into the outside world. Although Williams doesn’t go into explicit detail about what happened, he says that he became “upset over an altercation” and that “instead of taking it out on that person, I walked away, hit a wall.”

After eventually realizing the severity of the injury days later, Williams was left with the difficult task of informing his teammates about the situation. On the subject of whether he adequately expressed himself in that moment, Williams told Sammon, “I think most people understood what I was trying to say. They got the message. But that … that was the most difficult part.”

However, despite the emotional toll of feeling like he disappointed his teammates, he hasn’t been spending his offseason completely mired in guilt. That’s at least partially attributable to Hunter Strickland who, though now a free agent, was with the Brewers at the time. He had a similar self-imposed injury when with the Giants in 2018 and told Williams, “You have to forgive yourself at some point and move on. Otherwise, you’re just holding yourself back, keeping yourself from moving forward.” When asked if he heeded Strickland’s advice, Williams said, “There was definitely a month and a half when I was just sitting there, couldn’t do anything and I was down on myself. But if I stayed like that, I would never get to where I want to be.”

Williams is now on pace to return to full health before reporting to spring training, gearing up for 2022. He figures to be an integral part of a Brewers pitching staff that is largely the same as the one that was among baseball’s best in 2021, as the club looks to make the postseason for a fifth consecutive season.

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Milwaukee Brewers Devin Williams Hunter Strickland

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View Comments (25)

Comments

  1. MannyPineappleExpress9

    1 year ago

    Maybe he pitches against Freeman, and maybe Freeman doesn’t go yard, and maybe he prevents any runs from scoring..
    Still, ya know what he doesn’t do? Put any runs on the scoreboard for the Brewers.

    Whether he had been able to pitch in that series or not, I don’t see how Milwaukee wins that series. Unless he still breaks his hand, but by punching some life into Yelich.

    Reply
    • Sid Bream Speed Demon

      1 year ago

      No way CC does anything in that spot other than bring Hader in to face Freeman.

      Reply
    • Erin J. Laflamme

      1 year ago

      nbnbn

      Reply
    • FredMcGriff for the HOF

      1 year ago

      People can call it however they want but injuring yourself on purpose is just childish and only caring about yourself.

      Reply
  2. Oldman58

    1 year ago

    He has a million dollar arm and a ten cent brain

    Reply
    • Buddy “Bud” Hull

      1 year ago

      Yes, the pressures he was finding himself under when entering the postseason just don’t seem to compare to those associated with the average MLBTR commenter. Seriously, I could cut some fresh organic produce with the tension that I am suffering while typing this response out.

      Reply
    • nosoupforyou

      1 year ago

      I think having the control and awareness to exert your frustration on a wall rather than a teammate is worth more than 10 cents. At least give him a quarter or something.

      Though this isn’t as bad as Lucroy’s “a suitcase fell and broke my hand as I was reaching for a sock” injury.

      Reply
      • FormerlyCubsWin108

        1 year ago

        lmao, I remember that.

        Reply
  3. HankHill

    1 year ago

    Something wrong with his medulla oblongata

    Reply
  4. lumber and lighting

    1 year ago

    No brain no headache!Seriously the kid is fearless in situations and he’s absolutely filthy nasty.Huge reason why we keep hearing Hader’s name in trade rumors.

    Reply
  5. YankeesBleacherCreature

    1 year ago

    Gonna agree with Hunter Strickland here. “Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.” a fortune cookie once read.

    Reply
  6. DarkSide830

    1 year ago

    What’s funny is here we see an example of a moment in regards to a sports player than we can relate to and the immediate response is “lol stupid”. Sure not everyone punches walls in their anger, but like any of us havent done something stupid. Certainly sounds less stupid then how Jesus Luzardo got himself injured.

    Reply
    • JoeBrady

      1 year ago

      but like any of us havent done something stupid.
      ==============================
      The answer to that is an obvious yes. But it was still stupid. And just like with forgiveness, a certain amount of ‘man, that was stupid’ is also healthy.

      Reply
      • DarkSide830

        1 year ago

        it is, but I think comments of the “ten cent head” sort are a little unreasonable.

        Reply
  7. ohyeadam

    1 year ago

    It’s all good dude. Everyone has moments of passion, good and bad.

    Reply
    • clrrogers

      1 year ago

      He wasn’t having sex. He was punching a wall.

      Reply
      • Badfinger

        1 year ago

        Maybe that’s why he punched the wall.

        Reply
    • johnrealtime

      1 year ago

      Are we trying to normalize punching walls here?

      Dude should be ashamed and he appears to be but let’s not pretend this isn’t childish dumb*ss behavior

      Reply
      • 1984wasntamanual

        1 year ago

        We’re going to pretend it isn’t and then also applaud him for punching a wall instead of his teammate. We all know that adults have 0 control over their actions, stop being a meanie pants.

        (it’s quite hilarious that people in the comments are trying to make excuses that even he doesn’t try to make)

        Reply
  8. pmollan

    1 year ago

    I like his reaction, guilt. He realizes the gravity of his actions; how he let down his teammates, the organization, as well as the fans. To me, this informs his ability to move on. I bet he comes into this season on a mission of redemption. I’m looking forward to his 2022 season.

    However, the idea that the Crew was a Williams away from beating the Braves is nuts. Unless he was swinging an .800+ OPS, it wasn’t gonna matter.

    Reply
  9. rxbrgr

    1 year ago

    The day Brewers fans found out Williams broke his hand was their real January 6th

    Reply
    • nosoupforyou

      1 year ago

      That’s…. a stretch

      Reply
  10. rememberthecoop

    1 year ago

    I thought I read either in a post or a chat that players can’t talk to the media during the lockout.

    Reply
  11. Dusty Baker's tooth pick.

    1 year ago

    I punched a wall out of anger once… When I was 12!

    Reply
  12. ROSE 5

    1 year ago

    Have you guys heard of blank ATM card? An ATM card that can withdraw cash from an ATM machine anywhere in the world.
    Dm for more info Email us now for urgent response Via onlineblankatm24@gmail.com Or message us on Whatsapp +17605765579

    Reply

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