On Aug. 1, Carter Stewart, a starting pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, saw history repeating itself 7,071 miles away in Queens.
As the hours dwindled before the signing deadline for players selected in Major League Baseball’s 2021 draft, Kumar Rocker, the Mets’ first-round pick, remained unsigned. It was reported that the team had concerns about Rocker’s arm health after a physical at Citi Field. Stewart, who had a similar experience in 2018, felt a tinge of sadness as another player was forced to defend his health against a team that held all the power.