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Yankees P J.A. Happ becomes MLB's second NYC player with hand, foot and mouth disease

Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ joined Noah Syndergaard as the second New York player diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease on Tuesday. (AP)
Yankees pitcher J.A. Happ joined Noah Syndergaard as the second New York player diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease on Tuesday. (AP)

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman announced on Tuesday that recently acquired pitcher J.A. Happ has been diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease.

Cashman told reporters that it is a mild case.

It’s the second recent case of the disease for a New York pitcher after Mets starter Noah Syndergaard contracted the illness earlier in July.

What is hand, foot and mouth disease?

Hand, foot and mouth disease entails the infected suffering from lesions all around the body and is caused by a virus.

Symptoms include ulcers, or sores, inside or around the mouth, and a rash or blisters on the hands, feet, legs or buttocks, according to WebMD.

While it sounds wholly unpleasant, it’s also not considered serious. There is no treatment or vaccine for the illness, which tends to go away on its own in seven to 10 days, according to WebMD.

Is there a hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak in New York?

What’s bizarre is that hand, foot and mouth disease tends to affect children, and now there’s a second New York player in 10 days to come down with the illness. Syndergaard appeared to contract the illness while working at a children’s camp over the All-Star break.

There’s no word on how Happ, recently acquired in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays, contracted the illness. But for now, there’s nothing pointing to it being anything but a strange coincidence.

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