Watch: Red Sox manager shares surprising detail about pitcher's injury

Houck's desire to stay in the game against the rival New York Yankees is admirable, yet there was no way he was going to remain on the mound.

The 27-year-old missed over two months of big-league action before returning for two starts in late August. Houck then had five starts in September and was on the bump for Boston's season finale on Oct. 1 against the Baltimore Orioles.

He finished his fourth season 6-10 with a 5.01 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 99 strikeouts over 106 innings pitched covering 21 outings (all starts). Houck could find himself in the back end of the starting rotation in 2024 or may primarily come out of the bullpen, something he did as recently as 2022 when he made 28 relief appearances.

While the righty wasn't allowed to continue his outing following the terrifying injury, there have been plenty of other notable instances of professional athletes playing through difficult situations in recent months.

In Week 14 of the recently completed NFL season, Cleveland Browns defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo played through a torn pectoral in Week 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In Week 15, Miami Dolphins linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel dealt with a broken nose during his team's contest vs. the New York Jets.

And during an NBA game in December, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland played nearly an entire half vs. the Boston Celtics after suffering a fractured jaw.