In July of 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers broke the news that pitcher Dustin May, who had already been out since the middle of 2023 with a torn flexor tendon in his right arm, would miss the remainder of the season due to an esophageal tear.

The athlete recalled being “pretty close” to his comeback with the Dodgers when a piece of lettuce set him back even further. May explained that on July 10, 2024, he went to dinner while in Arizona, where he was rehabbing at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility.

Dodgers pitcher Dustin May said he was “pretty close” to joining his team’s 2024 World Series run until a “complete freak accident” required emergency surgery for a serious tear in his esophagus last July.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May was only about a month away from rejoining the roster last summer after an elbow surgery and a Tommy John revision that left him benched in 2023. However, before he could even make it to a stint in minor-league rehab, a freak accident took him out for the remainder of the season and nearly cost him his life.

Dustin May's 2024 season ended before it started, but for a bizarre reason. The Dodgers pitcher tore his esophagus, requiring him to undergo emergency surgery.