By the numbers: Key head-to-head statistics for Rockets, Warriors in 2024-25 season
By the numbers: Key head-to-head statistics for Rockets, Warriors in 2024-25 season With a first-round, best-of-seven matchup in the 2025 NBA playoffs on deck, we're taking a look back at previous Rockets-Warriors games this season.
With five meetings in the 2024-25 regular season — four originally scheduled, and a fifth coming via a quarterfinal elimination game of the Emirates NBA Cup 2024 — the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors know each other quite well.
The Warriors (48-30, No. 7 in Western Conference) won three of those five, though Houston (52-30, No. 2 in West) won two of the final three.
There was a clear trend across those five games. The Warriors averaged 103.4 points and the Rockets 101.8, and each team's offense versus the other would rate dead last when compared to the average offensive rating among the NBA's 30 teams this season.
So, will that translate to the upcoming matchup in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs? We'll find out starting Sunday, when the best-of-seven series (schedule) opens at Toyota Center.
Looking back at those five previous head-to-head meetings in 2024-25, here's a look back at key statistics for each team and its players.
Dates, Scores of Five Previous Meetings
Nov. 2 at Houston: Warriors 127, Rockets 121 in overtime (recap)
at Houston: Warriors 127, Rockets 121 in overtime (recap) Dec. 5 at Golden State: Warriors 99, Rockets 93 (recap)
at Golden State: Warriors 99, Rockets 93 (recap) Dec. 11 at Houston, NBA Cup: Rockets 91, Warriors 90 (recap)
at Houston, NBA Cup: Rockets 91, Warriors 90 (recap) Feb. 13 at Houston: Warriors 105, Rockets 98 (recap)
at Houston: Warriors 105, Rockets 98 (recap) April 6 at Golden State: Rockets 106, Warriors 96 (recap)
Houston Players vs. Golden State
This list is limited to players who averaged at least 13 minutes per game while playing in multiple games this season versus the Warriors.
Alperen Sengun , five games: 17.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.8 turnovers in 28.2 minutes; 47.1% FG, 65.5% on free throws, 51.4% true shooting (TS), -7.8 net rating
, five games: 17.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.8 turnovers in 28.2 minutes; 47.1% FG, 65.5% on free throws, 51.4% true shooting (TS), -7.8 net rating Jabari Smith Jr. , four games: 14.3 points, 6.0 rebounds in 34.7 minutes; 46.8% FG, 36.7% on 3-pointers, 59.5% TS, -2.1 net rating
, four games: 14.3 points, 6.0 rebounds in 34.7 minutes; 46.8% FG, 36.7% on 3-pointers, 59.5% TS, -2.1 net rating Tari Eason , three games: 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.3 blocks in 26.5 minutes; 51.5% FG, 44.4% on 3-pointers, 57.5% TS, +10.9 net rating
, three games: 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals, 1.3 blocks in 26.5 minutes; 51.5% FG, 44.4% on 3-pointers, 57.5% TS, +10.9 net rating Jalen Green , five games: 12.6 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.0 turnovers in 31.4 minutes; 31.5% FG, 25.0% on 3-pointers, 68.8% on free throws, 39.4% TS, -7.3 net rating
, five games: 12.6 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.0 turnovers in 31.4 minutes; 31.5% FG, 25.0% on 3-pointers, 68.8% on free throws, 39.4% TS, -7.3 net rating Dillon Brooks , five games: 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals in 30.0 minutes; 51.0% FG, 38.1% on 3-pointers, 59.5% TS, -8.6 net rating
, five games: 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals in 30.0 minutes; 51.0% FG, 38.1% on 3-pointers, 59.5% TS, -8.6 net rating Amen Thompson , five games: 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 blocks in 28.8 minutes; 48.2% FG, 50.4% TS, +10.1 net rating
, five games: 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 blocks in 28.8 minutes; 48.2% FG, 50.4% TS, +10.1 net rating Fred VanVleet , four games: 8.8 points, 5.0 assists, 1.8 turnovers in 37.3 minutes; 22.4% FG, 21.9% on 3-pointers, 33.3% TS, -4.8 net rating
, four games: 8.8 points, 5.0 assists, 1.8 turnovers in 37.3 minutes; 22.4% FG, 21.9% on 3-pointers, 33.3% TS, -4.8 net rating Aaron Holiday , five games: 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 18.0 minutes; 46.9% FG, 35.3% on 3-pointers, 58.5% TS, +6.3 net rating
, five games: 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 18.0 minutes; 46.9% FG, 35.3% on 3-pointers, 58.5% TS, +6.3 net rating Steven Adams, three games: 2.7 points, 5.7 rebounds in 13.4 minutes; 66.7% FG, 66.7% TS, +17.6 net rating
Golden State Players vs. Houston
This list is limited to players who averaged at least 13 minutes per game while playing in multiple games this season versus the Rockets.
Jonathan Kuminga , four games: 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 turnovers in 28.7 minutes; 50.8% FG, 42.1% on 3-pointers, 59.1% on free throws, 58.5% TS, +14.8 net rating
, four games: 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 turnovers in 28.7 minutes; 50.8% FG, 42.1% on 3-pointers, 59.1% on free throws, 58.5% TS, +14.8 net rating Steph Curry , three games: 16.3 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 turnovers in 33.9 minutes; 36.4% FG, 30.0% on 3-pointers, 50.6% TS, +2.4 net rating
, three games: 16.3 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 turnovers in 33.9 minutes; 36.4% FG, 30.0% on 3-pointers, 50.6% TS, +2.4 net rating Jimmy Butler , two games: 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists in 33.7 minutes; 45.5% FG, 40.0% on 3-pointers; 60.6% TS, -5.0 net rating
, two games: 16.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists in 33.7 minutes; 45.5% FG, 40.0% on 3-pointers; 60.6% TS, -5.0 net rating Buddy Hield , five games: 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds in 26.7 minutes; 45.3% FG, 40.0% on 3-pointers, 62.0% TS, +3.7 net rating
, five games: 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds in 26.7 minutes; 45.3% FG, 40.0% on 3-pointers, 62.0% TS, +3.7 net rating Brandin Podziemski , five games: 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 2.2 turnovers in 35.0 minutes; 40.0% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers, 50.1% TS, +2.3 net rating
, five games: 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 2.2 turnovers in 35.0 minutes; 40.0% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers, 50.1% TS, +2.3 net rating Draymond Green , four games: 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.5 turnovers in 30.6 minutes; 46.7% FG, 22.2% on 3-pointers, 63.6% on free throws, 53.1% TS, -6.0 net rating
, four games: 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.5 turnovers in 30.6 minutes; 46.7% FG, 22.2% on 3-pointers, 63.6% on free throws, 53.1% TS, -6.0 net rating Gary Payton II , four games: 7.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals in 16.8 minutes;48.1% FG, 27.3% on 3-pointers, 53.7% TS, -20.6 net rating
, four games: 7.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals in 16.8 minutes;48.1% FG, 27.3% on 3-pointers, 53.7% TS, -20.6 net rating Moses Moody , four games: 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds in 21.9 minutes; 32.% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers, 46.7% on free throws, 44.3% TS, +1.3 net rating
, four games: 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds in 21.9 minutes; 32.% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers, 46.7% on free throws, 44.3% TS, +1.3 net rating Kevon Looney, five games: 4.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists in 19.4 minutes; 38.1% FG, 58.3% on free throws
Rockets' Advanced Statistics vs. Warriors
Offensive rating : 103.0
: 103.0 Defensive rating : 104.2
: 104.2 Net rating : -1.2
: -1.2 Assist percentage : 60.0%
: 60.0% Assist-to-turnover ratio : 1.67
: 1.67 Assist ratio : 17.0%
: 17.0% Offensive rebounding percentage : 32.4%
: 32.4% Defensive rebounding percentage : 70.2%
: 70.2% Rebounding percentage : 50.5%
: 50.5% Turnover percentage : 14.6%
: 14.6% Effective field-goal percentage : 48.3%
: 48.3% TS : 50.3%
: 50.3% Possessions: 97.0 per game
Warriors' Advanced Team Statistics vs. Rockets
Offensive rating : 104.2
: 104.2 Defensive rating : 103.0
: 103.0 Net rating : +1.2
: +1.2 Assist percentage : 65.4%
: 65.4% Assist-to-turnover ratio : 1.57
: 1.57 Assist ratio : 17.5%
: 17.5% Offensive rebounding percentage : 29.8%
: 29.8% Defensive rebounding percentage : 67.6%
: 67.6% Rebounding percentage : 49.5%
: 49.5% Turnover percentage : 15.5%
: 15.5% Effective field-goal percentage : 50.8%
: 50.8% TS : 53.8%
: 53.8% Possessions: 97.0 per game
Rockets' Traditional Statistics vs. Warriors
Points per game : 101.8
: 101.8 Field-goal percentage : 42.6% on 93.8 attempts
: 42.6% on 93.8 attempts 3-point percentage : 30.1% on 35.2 attempts
: 30.1% on 35.2 attempts Free-throw percentage : 65.9% on 17.0 attempts
: 65.9% on 17.0 attempts Offensive rebounds : 13.4
: 13.4 Defensive rebounds : 32.8
: 32.8 Total rebounds : 46.2
: 46.2 Assists : 24.0
: 24.0 Turnovers : 14.4
: 14.4 Steals : 9.4
: 9.4 Blocks : 6.4
: 6.4 Fouls: 20.2
Warriors' Traditional Statistics vs. Rockets
Points per game : 103.4
: 103.4 Field-goal percentage : 43.4% on 85.2 attempts
: 43.4% on 85.2 attempts 3-point percentage : 34.6% on 36.4 attempts
: 34.6% on 36.4 attempts Free-throw percentage : 67.7% on 24.8 attempts
: 67.7% on 24.8 attempts Offensive rebounds : 11.0
: 11.0 Defensive rebounds : 34.6
: 34.6 Total rebounds : 45.6
: 45.6 Assists : 24.2
: 24.2 Turnovers : 15.4
: 15.4 Steals : 9.6
: 9.6 Blocks : 4.6
: 4.6 Fouls: 16.2
More: 2025 NBA playoffs: Rockets learn first-round opponent, schedule versus Warriors
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Since there's nothing Dave Roberts likes more than a starter on two days' rest as his closer, the Dodgers turned to Max Scherzer for the ninth. With a runner on first, Scherzer struck out LaMonte Wade looking and Wilmer Flores on what every Giants fan will tell you was ball one. In one sense, Boston's four consecutive wins to come back from a 3-0 series deficit and shock the Yankees happened in an anticlimactic order. Game 7, the culmination of that comeback, was not an especially compelling game on its own. In another sense, there's value to Game 4 being the best game of the series, and the one that required the biggest in-game comeback of the series. It's hard to be down more in a seven-game series than the Red Sox were in that ninth inning: Down 3-0 in the series, down by a run, down to the bottom of their order, down to facing Mariano Rivera. But Kevin Millar worked a walk, Dave Roberts worked his magic, and Bill Mueller came through with the oft-overlooked game-tying single. One game after a disastrous 19-8 loss, the Boston bullpen held the Yankees scoreless for six innings, setting the stage for David Ortiz's walk-off home run. With apologies to Backe and Williams (and to Curt Schilling, Matt Morris and Game 5 of the 2001 NLDS), this is the pitchers' duel of the century so far: a winner-take-all matchup between aces and old friends Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter that exceeded its promise. The Cardinals scored two batters into the game on consecutive extra-base hits from Rafael Furcal and Skip Schumaker. (Schumaker's at-bat, in particular, was terrific.) Halladay was lights-out the rest of the way, allowing only four more hits in finishing eight innings. Problem was, Carpenter didn't stumble for even two hitters. The former Cy Young Award winner, in the last great game of his career, tossed a three-hit shutout. He survived a pair of drives to the warning track from Raul Ibañez and Chase Utley and elicited 16 ground-ball outs — about as dominant a three-strikeout performance as a starter could have. Advertisement Carpenter's heroics knocked out a juggernaut Phillies team whose 102 wins were the most by a National League team in seven years. Thanks in part to the torn Achilles Ryan Howard suffered at the end of this game, Philadelphia's five-year run atop the NL East would end the next year, and Citizens Bank Park wouldn't host another playoff game until 2022 — earned by a series win over the Cardinals. Theoretically, minimizing a grueling 162-game regular season into a single contest to determine who advances is abhorrent. Practically, the single-game wild-card format, used for nine seasons and 18 games, delivered classic after classic. None were better than this one, which marked Kansas City's return to the postseason stage after a 29-year absence. A team built on contact, speed and outfield defense, those 2014-2015 Royals were an outlier in their own time. A decade later, it's mind-boggling to watch Kansas City's trademark late-inning rallies, constructed from single after single, with excellent base running thrown in. This late comeback against Jon Lester and an Athletics team that had looked like a powerhouse through the first half of the season foreshadowed the next two Octobers in K.C. The Royals compiled three singles, two walks and four stolen bases to cut a 7-3 lead to 7-6 in the eighth, then turned a leadoff single into a run thanks to a sac bunt, a brazen steal of third by Jarrod Dyson and a sac fly off Sean Doolittle to tie it in the ninth. Down again in the 12th — extra-inning games where the home team comes back to win in the bottom of the inning are a personal favorite of Matt Holliday and me — the Royals tied it on Christian Colon's chopper and won it on Salvador Perez's line drive to left. Not only were the Red Sox going to stun their archrivals in the Bronx in a Game 7, but they were also going to do it with Pedro Martínez on the mound to beat Roger Clemens. But just when it looked like Boston could really finish it off, the Yankees roared back. Aided by a pair of Jason Giambi homers and long relief from Mike Mussina, New York entered the eighth down 5-2, with Martínez still on the mound. With one out, a Derek Jeter double and Bernie Williams single scored one run and brought Grady Little to the mound. Martínez was at 115 pitches and lefty Alan Embree was ready in the pen. Little stuck with his ace — a move so bold it would have gotten 'First Take' to talk about baseball, had the show existed at the time — only for Martínez to allow consecutive doubles to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada to tie the score. Rivera tossed three scoreless innings — his longest outing since he'd been a set-up man seven years earlier — to get the Yankees to the 11th. That's when Aaron Boone took Tim Wakefield, a hero earlier in the series for the Sox, deep to left to win the pennant. Advertisement Canvass the baseball establishment about great games, and this back-and-forth (-and-back-and-forth-and-back, etc.) affair is never overlooked. If you were to steal the format of Daniel Okrent's classic 'Nine Innings' to dive into modern baseball, this would be the game you'd choose, and not just because it went 10. The Astros and Dodgers have been the sport's preeminent powers over the past decade, and their only postseason meeting was the sport's first in almost 40 years between teams that each won 100-plus regular-season games. The constitution of the baseball had become a paramount topic in the sport as home runs kept flying out of stadiums all October. Three years after the Royals and Giants combined for five homers in a seven-game World Series, this contest alone featured seven long balls. Three times in this game, a team came back from three runs down. At one point, three-run homers were hit in three consecutive half-innings. At another, stalwart L.A. reliever Brandon Morrow allowed four runs in six pitches. (The Astros, as we'd find out later, had a little help in home games at the time.) The last of those big comebacks came in the ninth, when the Dodgers scored three on Yasiel Puig's homer and Chris Taylor's two-out base hit. In the 10th, Houston built a two-out rally on a hit batter and a walk, with Alex Bregman delivering the walk-off hit to give the Astros a 3-2 series lead. Baseball's oft-stated promise is that, every night, you might see something you'd never seen before. Game 6 of the 2011 World Series tried to change that by packing everything you could possibly see into four hours and 33 minutes. In an elimination game they ultimately won, the Cardinals dropped popups in consecutive innings and had a runner picked off third with the bases loaded. Texas was on the verge of its first championship twice: It led by two in the ninth thanks to back-to-back seventh-inning homers by Adrián Beltré and Nelson Cruz. It led in the 10th thanks to Josh Hamilton's go-ahead homer. However, with apologies to Lance Berkman's two-out hit to tie it in the 10th, this game is about David Freese. Advertisement Think about this: Kirby Puckett hit a walk-off home run leading off the 11th inning of Game 6 of the 1991 World Series — which Joe Buck referenced when he mirrored his father's call for Freese's own leadoff homer in the 11th inning of Game 6 of this World Series. It is undoubtedly Puckett's most famous hit as a Hall of Fame major leaguer — the one they literally bronzed outside Target Field. Freese's walk-off homer, though, was only his second-biggest hit of this game, following his game-tying triple in the bottom of the ninth, just over the reach of Cruz. He'd hit a key double the next night, too, when the Cardinals completed their comeback with a Game 7 victory. GO DEEPER 60 Moments: No. 17, David Freese lives the dream in Game 6 It's hard to say where this game would have ranked if we stripped away some of its context — if it had been a Game 3 instead of a Game 7, if it had not been played between the teams with the longest championship droughts in the sport. But a Game 7 of the World Series is a rarer gift than it felt for a few years there in the middle of last decade. A Game 7 of the World Series that lives up to and exceeds its hype is more precious still. Having fought back from an unexpected 3-1 series deficit, the Cubs had built a 5-1 lead in the middle innings — up until two Cleveland runs scored on one Jon Lester wild pitch. Chicago's lead was 6-3 entering the eighth, which is when this game joined the all-time greats. Facing Aroldis Chapman, Brandon Guyer sliced a two-out RBI double to right, and Rajai Davis followed with a gob-smacking, game-tying home run. (Using championship win probability, Davis' home run is the second-biggest hit of the century and the fourth-biggest in baseball history. Unfortunately for him, it's the biggest to ever come in a loss.) And then the rain came. The Cubs gathered themselves, Jason Heyward made a speech, and Ben Zobrist lined an opposite-field go-ahead double off Bryan Shaw in the 10th. Chicago added an insurance run, which it would need when Davis drove home a run with a two-out single in the bottom of the inning. But Cleveland was down to the last man on its bench in the biggest spot, and Mike Montgomery induced a groundout from Michael Martínez to end the Cubs' 108-year drought. I'm not sure how you beat this. You start with the pitching matchup. Roger Clemens won the AL Cy Young Award that season, one of seven he'd win in his career. Curt Schilling finished second in the NL Cy Young voting that year and was arguably the best big-game pitcher of his generation. Oh, and the pitchers who finished the night on the mound? That would be Randy Johnson, who bested Schilling for one of his five career Cy Young awards and had thrown more than 100 pitches the night before, and Mariano Rivera, the first and only unanimous Hall of Famer. Advertisement The Diamondbacks broke the ice with Danny Bautista's sixth-inning RBI double. Tino Martinez answered with a seventh-inning RBI single, and Alfonso Soriano put the Yankees ahead with a solo shot off Schilling in the eighth. And then we get to the bottom of the ninth — to Mark Grace's leadoff single, to Rivera's error on one bunt and gutsy play to secure the lead out on the next one, to Tony Womack delivering the biggest hit of the century by championship win probability to tie it. (Don't overlook Womack; he'd also delivered the walk-off series-winning hit in the NLDS.) It's part of baseball's beauty that the big at-bat often goes to Gene Larkin or Francisco Cabrera or Rajai Davis. There's no Golden At-Bat rule. Which is what makes it especially memorable when you get a matchup like Rivera against Luis Gonzalez, the NL's best hitter not named Barry Bonds. Rivera's cutter was as good as ever, sawing Gonzalez off at the handle. But Gonzo got just enough of it to flutter over the drawn-in infield and into baseball history. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen/ The Athletic; Photos: Joe Cavaretta / Associated Press, Matt Slocum / Associated Press, Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
Associated Press
43 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Lance McCullers Jr. hires security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
HOUSTON (AP) — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.' McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing 'vile' comments at him. The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and hired 24-hour security for his family. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Abuse increasing with rise in sports gambling Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is 'a nightly thing' for most players. 'I think over the last few years it's definitely increased,' he said. 'It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance.' And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. 'You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that,' veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. 'I guess they should make better bets.' Hendriks has had enough Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. 'Enough is enough,' he said. 'Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.' What teams are doing Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: 'both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.' The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. Abandoning social media For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. 'I deleted it,' he said of Instagram. 'I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear.' Criticism is part of the game, threats are not The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a 'moral line' that fans shouldn't cross. 'People should want us to succeed,' he said. 'We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games.' Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. 'We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,' Espada said this week. 'But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids — now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.' Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. 'Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too,' he said. 'Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.' McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. 'It does make you kind of shell up a little bit,' he said. 'It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it.' Finding a solution While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. 'I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,' Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. 'But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation.' White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. 'Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,' he said. 'I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?' ___ AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick and AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen, Kyle Hightower, Larry Lage and Steve Megargee contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB:
