Former Wolfpack Star Rodon a Hit on Twitch
Carlos Rodon’s comeback from Tommy John surgery has been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down Major League Baseball, along with all other sports in America.
But that doesn’t mean the former NC State All-American is sitting idly by waiting for play to resume.
The Chicago White Sox left-hander is still on the mound, at least virtually, thanks to the live video streaming service Twitch.
Rodon is a frequent and popular participant, with more than 1,300 followers and 120 subscribers who pay to watch him play video games “MLB The Show” and “Call of Duty,” often with White Sox teammates Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel.
“It keeps us connected with fans because right now there's no sports," Rodon told ESPN.com last week. "People have to stay inside. You're on lockdown, you're not talking to anybody, I think it's therapeutic for people.
“When you're in the situation we're in, you can be staring at a wall by yourself and there's only so many TV shows you can watch or so many books you can read. Same thing with video games, but now you get to talk to a professional baseball player."
Rodon, who has been sidelined since undergoing surgery last May, has been live streaming video games since spring training was halted last month -- usually between 8 p.m. and midnight.
Thanks to an assist from his wife, who got him a camera, a microphone and the other essentials needed to start his own Twitch channel that allows him to play against others, while at the same time giving him the capability to interact with the fans that sign on to watch him in action.
It's something the former Wolfpack star enjoys as much as he does playing the games.
“It helps us as players to be able to interact with fans," Rodon told Colleen Kane for a story in the Chicago Tribune. "We’re playing video games anyway, so we might as well broadcast that out and enjoy what we do with fans that like to game as well.”
Rodon holds the State school record for strikeouts in a season and career while helping pitch the Wolfpack to the College World Series in 2013. He was the third overall pick in the 2014 Major League draft and has compiled a 29-31 record in parts of five seasons with the White Sox.