Atlanta Braves Lefty Matt Marksberry Seriously Ill
By Fred Owens
News broke late this afternoon on Twitter that Atlanta Braves lefty Matt Marksberry is seriously ill.
While watching the final game of the ALCS this afternoon Atlanta Braves Fan Twitter lit up with word that Matt Marksberry was seriously ill in hospital.
Two days ago Marksberry @sirleftyduo let followers know he had a health issue.
A Tweet containing a Facebook post from Matt’s brother Ethan suggested the young left was in serious condition.
At 6:30 Central Time Braves beat writers David O’Brien game us an official team statement
#Braves Marksberry went in for procedure, non-baseball, and had reaction from severe dehydration. HIPA rules restrict team from saying more
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) October 19, 2016
It is serious. Just don't know about the report of him being on life support; someone I trust said didn't think that was the case. https://t.co/lcU8zS8yOS
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) October 19, 2016
Mark Bowman followed up with more information.
HIPAA laws prevent the Braves from providing specifics about Marksberry's condition. But it sounds like his vital signs are good.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) October 19, 2016
Braves Career to Date
Marksberry was a fifteenth round selection of the Braves in the 2013 draft and made his major league debut just two years later throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings against the Phillies.
Fans immediately saw a resemblance between Matt and Charlies Sheen’s Rick Vaughn character from the movie Major League.
Who wore it better? @SirLEFTYDuro (Matt Marksberry) or Vaughn? #AskCoppy pic.twitter.com/YouWMyDDXv
— Sam (@SamTheMan180) February 29, 2016
He finished 2015 with 31 appearances under his belt covering 23 1/3 innings and a 5.01 ERA, a number skewed by a short outing with a couple of runs and former skipper Fredi Gonzalez insistence on using him against RHH.
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Against lefties Matt was very effective. Hitter managed only a .170/.267/.264/.53i line – 9 for 53 – with 14 strikeouts while RHH had more fun posting a .361/.479/.639/1.118.
He threw 8 2/3 innings for the M-Braves in six games to start the season then had a quick cup of coffee against the Mets In April. He followed that with a stint at Gwinnett broken only by another single game call up in June.
The Braves recalled him again at the end of July but he threw only 3 1/3 innings for Atlanta before going on the DL.
Matt Marksberry has been placed on the 15-day DL with left rotator cuff inflammation. Daniel Castro has been recalled from @GwinnettBraves.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 31, 2016
On October 12 the Braves removed Marksberry from the 40 man roster – probably because he was injured and they didn’t expect him to be lost to rule five.
That’s A Wrap
I personally checked Facebook and the Tweet shows a genuine post but details are slow to emerge in these cases and that’s as it should be. As much as we feel like we know these guys and they are part of the are family, his immediate family are the ones with the real need for knowledge.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Matt and his family. He’s a fine young man who we all hope to see back on the mound for Atlanta as soon as possible.