Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was removed from Tuesday night’s game against the New York Yankees with an injury later revealed to be a left upper trap muscle cramp.
While the Jays ended with a 7-1 win, many fans worried about how long the Japan native could be out.
After the game, The Athletic’s Kaitlyn McGrath provided some relief when she reported that Kikuchi “thinks he’ll be fine for his next start” at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.
The most surprising part about McGrath’s update is that the Blue Jays pitcher attributed his cramps to insufficient sleep the night before. He reportedly got only 11 hours of shuteye, a few hours less than his usual 13 or 14, which, if you’re counting, is almost as much as a newborn baby.
#BlueJays starter Yusei Kikuchi thinks heāll be fine for his next start after he left the game with cramps. The biggest revelation was that he said it may have been caused by only getting 11 (!) hours of sleep last night instead of his usual 13 or 14 hours (!!)
— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) September 20, 2023
McGrath later added that Kikuchi claims to go to bed around 11 pm every night and wake up at 1 pm.
Yusei said he goes to bed around 11 p.m. usually and wakes up at 1 p.m. Anyway, all this means Iāll have to have a full 3000-word feature on Kikuchiās sleep schedule at some point
ā Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) September 20, 2023
Blue Jays fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts on the 32-year-old’s peculiar sleep schedule, with many expressing envy.
One even proposed that sleep be measured in “Kikuchi units” in the future.
Henceforth all sleep shall be measured in Kikuchi units. A full Kikuchi is 12 hrs:
Half a Kikuchi is a standard night of sleep for the average person.
A double Kikuchi means a coma.
A triple Kikuchi means you are dead. https://t.co/THys1k4T00— Nope SZN (@Lesley_NOPE) September 20, 2023
“So many athletes buy fancy cars and huge homes, and still the most baller thing any of them has ever said is, ‘I only got 11 hours of sleep last night instead of my usual 13-14,'” one user wrote.
So many athletes buy fancy cars and huge homes, and still the most baller thing any of them has ever said is, "I only got 11 hours of sleep last night instead of my usual 13-14." We see you, Yusei Kikuchi. #NextLevel
— Oskee Ray Ray (@raymiller80) September 20, 2023
Another pointed out that Kikuchi “sleeps enough for the entire GTA.”
Was trying to figure out how I was only able to sleep 5 hours last night. Then I remembered Yusei Kikuchi sleeps enough for the entire GTA so Iāll be fine šš»
— Samantha Zeitz (@ZeitzSamantha) September 20, 2023
While it may seem like an excessive amount of rest, Kikuchi’s routine has allowed him to maintain a spot among the top 30 MLB pitchers in the statistic leaderboard for strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP this season.
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