New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo is having one of the worst seasons of his career at the plate and a recent discovery by a specialist might have revealed part of the problem.
He is apparently allergic to his batting gloves.
Seriously.
Verdugo recently told NJ Advance Media's Randy Miller that he has been dealing with hand issues that have produced blistering and sores since the 2021 season. During the All-Star break he remained in New York to see a specialist who found he has an allergy to cobalt and chromate, two chemicals in the Franklin batting gloves that he has been using.
Doctors that spoke with Miller speculated that Verdugo's tattoos could also be the source of his allergy.
"NJ Advance Media spoke to two doctors, one of whom believes Verdugo’s condition might be related to the ink in the many tattoos covering his chest and arms," Miller writes. "Neither has examined Verdugo and both are speculating on possible causes and cures. 'It’s probably the tattoos,' said Dr. Arthur Lubitz, a Manhattan-based allergist who has been a Yankees fan since the late 1950s. 'It’s very rare, but the tattoos are made of metal ink and you can get a tattoo allergy to the metal.'”
Of the possibility that his tattoos could be the issue, Verdugo said, "My tattoos? Man, I never thought of that."
This would be a staggering development in Verdugo's career and perhaps one of the strangest sources of a player's decline that you could ever imagine. But it would also be completely understandable. Given the symptoms that Verdugo described — dry skin, scabs, sores, etc. — gripping a baseball bat or even fielding a baseball might feel extraordinarily painful. There is no way that he has been comfortable at the plate given those circumstances.
Verdugo's production has been steadily declining since the 2021 season when he started experiencing the symptoms.
During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season — the year before the symptoms began —Verdugo had his best season in the majors, hitting .308 with an .844 OPS in 53 games, resulting in a 12th-place finish in the American League MVP voting.
In 2021 — when the symptoms began — his average dropped down to .289 with a .777 OPS.
In 2022 he was down to .280 with a .732 OPS.
In 2023 it was .264 with a .745 OPS.
Now this season Verdugo entered play on Friday with a .239 average and a .665 OPS through 117 games played, both the worst numbers of his career.
Maybe it is a coincidence. Or maybe there truly is something that is physically impacting his ability to hit the baseball the way he used to earlier in his career.
