Dodgers’ Dustin May Recounts Freak Accident That Required Emergency Surgery
Last year was supposed to be different for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dustin May.
After undergoing flexor tendon surgery and a Tommy John revision, he had been sidelined since midway through 2023, but was steadily working toward a comeback. By early July, he was just a week away from starting a minor-league rehab assignment and about a month from rejoining the roster.
Then, one bad bite of salad changed everything.
May recalled the night he ruptured his esophagus in an exclusive interview with Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
“It was definitely a life-altering event,” May said, publicly recounting the ordeal for the first time. “It was definitely very serious. It’s not a very common surgery. It was definitely an emergency.”
So much so, he added, “I probably wouldn’t have made it through the night if I didn’t have it.”
At first, May didn’t think much of it. He remembers a “mega-painful” sensation for about 15 minutes after swallowing a piece of lettuce, but when the pain subsided, he assumed everything was fine.
“I’m not a big panicker,” he said. “It kind of chilled out. So I was like, ‘I’m fine. I don’t need to do anything.’”
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His wife, Millie, thought otherwise and urged him to go to the emergency room. Her instincts may have saved his life.
Doctors performed a CT scan with contrast fluid, revealing the severity of the rupture. Surgery was unavoidable and had to happen immediately.
May underwent what he described as “essentially a full abdominal surgery.” Standing in front of his locker, he lifted his shirt to show Harris a long vertical scar running from his lower chest to his stomach.
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His return to the mound was no longer the priority — his life had been on the line.
Instead of continuing his rehab, May was barred from lifting anything over 10 pounds for six months. He started light throwing in November and was cleared for full-strength activities around New Year’s.
The ordeal has changed his perspective on life.
“It just kind of gives me a different viewpoint on a lot of things in life,” May said, still sounding in disbelief. “Just seeing how something so non-baseball-related can just be like — it can be gone in a second. And the stuff it put my wife through, it definitely gave me [a feeling] of, ‘Wow, stuff can change like that.’ It was definitely very scary.”
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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