Injury Update: Justin Morneau Still Suffering Concussion Symptoms
One player that might be interesting to watch when the 2012 MLB season rolls around is Minnesota Twins‘ first basemen, Justin Morneau. While only 30 years old, Morneau has suffered through enough injuries to see his career cut drastically short before everything is said and done.
Morneau suffered a major concussion in July 2010 when he was hit in the head by a takeout slide. After that concussion, he ended up missing the remainder to the 2010 season and questions about his baseball future arose. However, Morneau beat all odds and ended up back in the Twins’ starting lineup, playing his first base position.
Things did not go well for Morneau in 2011. The player had surgery on his wrist, knee, foot and neck in 2011 and ended up the year with a .227 average, his lowest total since his rookie season. It was a huge disappointment coming off a .345 average in his shortened 2012 campaign. He also only hit four home runs in 264 at bats and struck out 44 times.
Then his season ended the same as it did the prior year, with his concussion symptoms returning on August 30, 2011. As the season rolled to a close, Morneau had not gone through multiple days without experiencing some concussion-related symptoms.
“If (being a designated hitter is) something I need to do, and if that means being able to hit fourth and help this team win every day, I’ll do it,” Morneau told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “The last thing we need is to be out there tentative, and not being able to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire said he will leave the decision up to Morneau whether he feels he can play first base in 2012 or not.
“Morneau has to eventually tell us what’s right for him, or I’ll make the decision for him and we’ll go from there,” Gardenhire told 1500ESPN.com.
It looks like the decision might end up being designated hitter for the slugger, although the Twins claim he will start the season at first. In a recent interview, Morneau said there is something very wrong with his head.
”Something’s not right,” Morneau told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. ”You get hit, and the brain gets knocked off a little bit, you feel like you’re half a second off. When you’re trying to hit, it almost makes it impossible to hit. You feel like the balls behind you by the time you recognize the pitches.”
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
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