Dodgers' Dustin May discusses reliance on faith, wife during serious injuries and 'life-or-death' experience

Dustin May's beingness was astir chopped abbreviated past year.

While recovering from a 2nd Tommy John country implicit the summer, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher was eating a salad. A leafage of lettuce got stuck successful his pharynx and tore his esophagus, requiring exigency surgery.

May did not privation to spell to the hospital, but wives cognize all.

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Dustin May of the Los Angeles Dodgers enters the stadium connected opening time for a crippled against the St. Louis Cardinals astatine Dodger Stadium March 28, 2024, successful Los Angeles.  (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

"If I wouldn’t person went into country that night, I wouldn’t person woke up, probably. It was decidedly beingness oregon death. It's each acknowledgment to my wife," helium told Fox News Digital successful a caller interview. "I was trying to person her I didn’t request to go, and she said it’s not an option."

May got called up successful 2019, and his limb has ever been 1 of the nastiest successful the large leagues. However, since 2021, he's made conscionable 25 starts owed to 2 Tommy John surgeries and his lettuce mishap.

When he's connected the field, he's been great. His ERA successful that span is 3.24. He's besides made each 5 starts this year, pitching to astir a 4.00 ERA.

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"I consciousness great. It's conscionable a blessing to beryllium capable to enactment connected the azygous and beryllium backmost connected the tract now. Whether the results are bully oregon bad, I'm gonna beryllium successful a bully temper going home, conscionable due to the fact that the crippled was taken distant from maine for truthful agelong and being capable to leap close backmost into it and not skip a bushed has been great," May said.

Arm injuries happen, particularly for pitchers. But the remainder of your season, and astir your life, being chopped abbreviated owed to eating a salad? That was a pugnacious pill to swallow for May, who admitted helium couldn't assistance but think,"Can thing spell my way?"

"It's decidedly crossed my mind," helium said.

With the assistance of his wife, he's besides utilized the powerfulness of prayer.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May throws during a outpouring grooming workout astatine Camelback Ranch. (Joe Camporeale/Imagn Images)

"There's been a batch of praying and a batch of talking with my woman and a batch of sit-down conversations conscionable trying to wrapper our heads astir this and trying to enactment our champion ft guardant to not enactment the ‘why me’ look on. There’s been a batch of affirmative talk, a batch of affirmations with maine and her. That’s been our biggest thing."

May has ever leaned connected his faith, "but my spiritual travel has decidedly grown implicit similar the past nine-ish months since my surgery."

"It decidedly got a batch closer, due to the fact that I was astir taken away, truthful I decidedly wanted to person the accidental to convey Him to beryllium capable to inactive beryllium present and inactive unrecorded retired my imagination and usage the abilities and gifts that He blessed maine with."

"So, acknowledgment to [my wife] and the bully Lord above."

Now that he's back, May is trying to beryllium arsenic stress-free connected the bump arsenic possible. That wasn't the lawsuit erstwhile helium returned from his archetypal Tommy John country due to the fact that helium was a apical prospect.

"I consciousness like, earlier successful my career, decidedly aft my archetypal [Tommy John surgery] erstwhile I came back, I decidedly felt similar determination was unit connected maine to beryllium the idiosyncratic that I was before," helium said. "But, I mean, aft each this it went down, aft my 2nd [Tommy John] and aft my esophagus surgery, there's a batch bigger representation items successful my beingness now, not conscionable being my satellite truthful wrapped and focused connected baseball. It's decidedly inactive a halfway point, absolutely. But if things spell southbound oregon if things spell good, I'm inactive gonna effort and support a level head.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May celebrates during a crippled against the San Diego Padres May 12, 2023, astatine Dodger Stadium successful Los Angeles. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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"I’m conscionable blessed and blessed to beryllium capable to enactment the azygous connected again and beryllium retired determination with my guys due to the fact that that was thing that I had missed and felt similar I hadn't been a portion of it successful truthful long.

"I felt similar a instrumentality due to the fact that I was truthful acold distant from it. Now I consciousness similar I’m contributing. It’s a mode cooler feeling."

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