The Houston Police Department has identified the man behind recent death threats made to Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and his family. Police say a man located outside the United States who was intoxicated and had gambled on a game in May was the one who made threats to McCullers, per ESPN.
A spokesperson for the department on Monday declined to identify the suspect or his location and said no charges had been filed. The spokesperson told ESPN that the man admitted that he had been gambling on an Astros game, lost money and was frustrated and inebriated when he sent the threats to McCullers.
The man apologized and asked that his apology be relayed to McCullers and his family, according to the spokesperson.
The game in question happened on May 10, McCullers’ second start since returning from the injured list after two years away due to major surgery and an extended recovery. McCullers gave up seven runs and recorded just one out. After the game, he told reporters, “I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with.”
“So, just as a father, I think there have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me, mostly, and I think actually one or two people from other issues around baseball actually had to go to jail for things like that. But I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them or next time they see us in public, they’re going to stab my kids to death, things like that, it’s tough to hear as a dad.”
After the threat, the Astros hired 24-hour security for McCullers and his family.
On the field since, McCullers has been much better. The Astros have won all three of his starts and he’s posted a 3.14 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 14⅓ innings.