Most people who are allergic to something, whether it is food, an animal or anything else, rectify the problem so it doesn’t affect their daily lives.
But what happens when you are allergic to one of the things that helps you perform at your place of employment?
New York Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo found out recently that he is allergic to … his batting gloves.
He told NJ Advance Media about the issues with his hands, saying they blister and scab. Verdugo said he has dealt with the problem since the 2021 season.
The Yankees sent him to an allergist to determine the issue, and he was shocked to find that the answers were in his batting gloves.
All things Yankees: Latest New York Yankees news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
Verdugo said the doctors found that the allergic reactions were caused by two chemicals, chromate and cobalt, in his Franklin batting gloves.
“Chromate is used in curing the leather,” Verdugo said. “And cobalt is found in the color dyes.”
Franklin’s senior director of baseball operations, John Ballas, said his company would fix the issue.
“It’s something that’s never come up before, but I’m hoping that we have an answer soon,” Ballas said. “It’s good that Alex finally figured out what he’s allergic to because this has been going on for a while. The next step is, I have my people looking into exactly what goes into the leather. Once we get the final determination, I’ll figure out how we can make something for Alex that won’t give him an allergic reaction.”
Verdugo, who is batting .235 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI this season, is also looking into taking Dupixent shots.
“I’ve had this for three years,” he said. “That’s long enough.”
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
