At the Giants’ Fellowship Day event after Saturday’s game, Giants’ reliever Hunter Strickland revealed to fans that he has been dealing with ulcerative colitis, according to Julie Parker. Parker reported that Strickland hadn’t even told some teammates about the condition, which he said has nagged him for the last two years.
According to Parker, Strickland said he was officially diagnosed with the condition in the offseason, and the process of dealing with that has been the cause of some of his anger issues. Ulcerative colitis is “an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers (sores) in your digestive tract,” according to the Mayo Clinic. The symptoms are potentially debilitating and can be life-threatening in some cases.
Before the game, manager Bruce Bochy talked about Strickland’s perseverance through his health struggles.
“If you know Hunter, you know his makeup, the mental toughness this guy has,” Bochy said. “He hasn’t let it slow him down any, really, as far as how he goes about his business, how he pitches. It is something he’s had to deal with, but he’s dealt with it in such a great way that he’s still going out there competing and doing all he can.”
Through June 17, Strickland was dependable and dominant coming out of the Giants’ bullpen. He had a 2.01 ERA following a two-out performance in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The next day, Strickland blew a save against the Miami Marlins and broke his hand after punching a door. He has been working his way back into the Giants’ bullpen rotation since returning from the injury August 18.