On Saturday, June 4, Max Scherzer told the New York Mets media that his dog, Rafi, bit his throwing hand. The whole incident sounded rather absurd, but it blew up on Twitter immediately. Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo Tweeted about it, and then thousands of fans started discussing.
Speculation grew. Some fans started thinking the bite would sideline Scherzer for even longer than what's already expected. The right-hander strained his oblique a couple weeks back and will not return to action for at least another month. Scherzer had to take to Twitter himself to clear up the situation.
"Just clearing a few things up. My dog Rafi hurt her leg on a run. She was howling in pain and I went to calm her down by putting my hands on her. When I did that she bit my right hand. Fortunately it wasn't a bad bite. I took one day off from throwing and was able to long toss the next day. This will have no effect on my rehab and this is literally a non story." - @ Max Scherzer
His words put fans at ease. However, the whole situation was too bizarre for Twitter to keep quiet about. Here were the platform's best reactions.
Twitter reacts to bizarre story of New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer getting bitten by his dog
This fan thinks Scherzer's dog is a Philadelphia Phillies fan.
"Mets' Max Scherzer was bitten by one of his dogs on his pitching hand. Dog needs to brush up on his idioms: 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you.' Dog must be a Phillies fan. It could have been worse. He could have told dog to fetch the ball and had his testicle bitten." - @ Gary Bachman
The Mets have had some weird injuries lately. Last week, Francisco Lindor slammed a hotel door on his finger. Now, this.
"Between Francisco Lindor fracturing his finger in a hotel door and Max Scherzer being bitten by his dog on his throwing hand, the Mets are like a team straight out of OOTP Baseball." - @ Moonlightswami
Why let fans have all the fun? New York Mets owner Steve Cohen jumped in too.
"Doesn’t Scherzer’s dog know to never bite the hand that feeds you?" - @ Steven Cohen
To clarify, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin didn't actually say this. A fan made it up. But that doesn't take away from how funny it is.
"Tony Gonsolin says Max Scherzer has 'only himself to blame' after getting bit by his own dog" - @ FAX Sports: MLB
This user took the whole story and ran with it. The naive should take everything he says with a grain of salt.
"With Francisco Lindor fracturing his finger in a hotel room door and Max Scherzer getting bit on his hand by a dog, it gives me no pleasure to inform you that Brandon Nimmo strained his neck while watching gas prices rise on OANN. His status for tonight's game is unclear." - @ Mark Gooden
Why not take it a little further? This user just kept building upon his fabrication.
"Updating the Scherzer story from earlier: A team official now says not only was the dog bite was to Scherzer’s throwing hand - not his left hand - but his whole pitching arm was bitten clean off. The official says it still shouldn't set him back further in his rehab." - @ Mark Gooden
Once again, this isn't true. And Scherzer didn't kick his dog.
"#Mets P Max Scherzer has been suspended 10 games for kicking his dog" - @MLB News Network
Mets fans can rest easy as both Scherzer and his dog are well on the road to recovery.