Joe Mauer's Concussion Symptoms Return

The longer Mauer spends on the DL, one would have to imagine the more likely retirement becomes at year's end.

That being said, I have not talked to Joe about his plans, so my opinion is worthless.

I can personally attest that it is extremely hard to drive with concussion symptoms. Far worse than being totally drunk. You can see, but you lose track of what things are. In my case, I slowed down, veered to the side, then banged into a parked car. I could see the car, but I could not think of what to do to avoid hitting it. 

Thing is, the previous day I had been knocked flying from my bicycle, but I didn't notice concussion symptoms until the next day. I did not feel "clear headed" for almost a year afterwards. Concussions are horrible, terrifying things. Maybe the worst part is, the damage from concussions does not fully heal, and it tends to accumulate over time. I feel bad for Joe Mauer. His symptoms may fade, but he will be vulnerable to concussion symptoms for the rest of his life. 

It took four years for him to return to the level of play that would have been expected of him had he not sustained his 2013 concussion, and I fear he won't be back at his expected level of performance again this season. As is the case with all of us, I have no inside information and I'm not a neurologist but with these symptoms returning I think this is probably his last season.

After a series of concussions, didn't Justin Morneau's career end with a concussion received while diving for a ball while playing first base?

This situation is way to similar.  I hope for the best for Joe.  But even if he comes back for the rest of the year, this may be the pebble that pushes him over the edge when deciding whether or not to retire.

Of all the bad luck the Twins have had this year, this is the saddest part of the season by far. I hope Joe feels better soon.

I can personally attest that it is extremely hard to drive with concussion symptoms. Far worse than being totally drunk. You can see, but you lose track of what things are. In my case, I slowed down, veered to the side, then banged into a parked car. I could see the car, but I could not think of what to do to avoid hitting it. 

 

Thing is, the previous day I had been knocked flying from my bicycle, but I didn't notice concussion symptoms until the next day. I did not feel "clear headed" for almost a year afterwards. Concussions are horrible, terrifying things. Maybe the worst part is, the damage from concussions does not fully heal, and it tends to accumulate over time. I feel bad for Joe Mauer. His symptoms may fade, but he will be vulnerable to concussion symptoms for the rest of his life. 

Interesting.  Similar experience for me except I lost an entire day after taking a spill from my bike as a kid.  Too this very day I remember nothing of what happened the ENTIRE day except what mom told me and the imprint / bruise of the bike handle bars on my chest.  Mom said i wondered home, couldn't remember my name, birth date, etc.  (8 years old at the time).  Concussions can be extremely dangerous.

Injury is always part of sports but it seems that this year the disabled list update occupies a larger segment of MLB headlines. I think it is fair to say that durability and ability to play through injury is part of the total package of being an athlete. If Joe Mauer really got a concussion from diving for a foul ball, he should never set foot on the field again. In today's game, Mickey Mantle would probably have stayed on the DL from the time he ran over that sprinkler head in center field. Buxton's .115 average is probably what sent him back on the DL; not his toe. Still concerned about Sano but I hope he is able to finish the season out injury free and see what numbers he can pile up. That opposite field shot was an amazing thing to see and MLB Net had a great view of it.

This is so sad.

I feel for the guy. He had a Hall of Fame career derailed by a nagging, mysterious injury. Tough break.

However, $150 million dollars is a pretty nice consolation. Hard to feel sorry for a guy who made that much money over a decade of doing something I pay league fees to play every year.

I feel sorry for construction workers that get terminal mesothelioma and get screwed by health insurance companies, while making 40k per year over 30 year career. I feel sorry for a private in the Marine Corps that gets half of his body blown to bits fighting for a bunch of ungrateful Liberal millennials, while making peanuts.

A guy riding into the sunset in his mid-30s, with enough asset-wise to support the next 5 generations of Mauers doesn't do much to my heartstrings. Especially when we know he's got a cushy Twins FO job waiting for him.

Tough break, but I don't think it's necessary to shed a tear and play flowers of the forest on the bagpipes.

Wow... that's scary. Thank you for sharing...

I'm sorry I don't have better news for Joe Mauer, a player I truly admire. He does so many things right, but if a hard, jarring impact brought back his symptoms even without banging his head... Man, that sounds a lot like what Corey Koske went through. 

Different parts of our bodies heal in different ways. A properly set bone can be stronger after it heals. A cut either heals by itself or can be stitched, and heals. The TJ ligament can be replaced, sewed together, and be stronger than the original. But the brain is like a mass of microcircuits that doesn't regrow quite right after it gets damaged. Instead, it appears to create new connections, but they aren't as good as the originals, more like a weak patch that is less robust than the original tissue. Worse, repeated concussions make the overall situation progressively worse, which Justin Morneau discovered after his concussions as a hockey goalie made him more vulnerable to that collision at second base. 

One thing we all know is that you don't have to be a pro athlete to have plenty of experience with repeated concussions. I've been knocked unconscious several times going back to my childhood playing football, baseball, wrestling and gymnastics. If I had any idea what was in store later on, I would have avoided all contact sports and joined the friggin chess club. The human brain simply isn't built to survive heavy impacts without suffering permanent damage. 

With a recurrence of his concussion symptoms it sounds like Mauer won't be back anytime soon. By the time he might be able to give it another try, the Twins could be effectively out of the playoff race, at which point you'd have to question if it's worth coming back at all (especially if he's thinking about retiring after the season).

I feel for the guy. He had a Hall of Fame career derailed by a nagging, mysterious injury. Tough break.

However, $150 million dollars is a pretty nice consolation. Hard to feel sorry for a guy who made that much money over a decade of doing something I pay league fees to play every year.

I feel sorry for construction workers that get terminal mesothelioma and get screwed by health insurance companies, while making 40k per year over 30 year career. I feel sorry for a private in the Marine Corps that gets half of his body blown to bits fighting for a bunch of ungrateful Liberal millennials, while making peanuts.

A guy riding into the sunset in his mid-30s, with enough asset-wise to support the next 5 generations of Mauers doesn't do much to my heartstrings. Especially when we know he's got a cushy Twins FO job waiting for him.

Tough break, but I don't think it's necessary to shed a tear and play flowers of the forest on the bagpipes.

I'm kind of with you on this though I don't know any ungrateful Liberal millenials or any ungrateful Conservative millenials for that matter.    Anyway, irrelevant politic smears aside I don't really feel more sympathy for Joe than any others that I know, including myself,  that have had concussions even though Mauer seems like a pretty good egg.    I feel a little sorry for myself because I have always enjoyed watching him play and I think he helps the Twins when healthy.    Maybe his next gig will be DH where he doesn't have to worry about the dives.     I think his .400 OBP would still play well with this group.

If Joe Mauer really got a concussion from diving for a foul ball, he should never set foot on the field again. 

Simply step away because the risks don't justify the reward of "having fun playing baseball".  This goes far beyond baseball.  He has a young family and I would not want my brother or my best friend playing given the same circumstances.

I sure hope Joe gets some sound advice.

Darius - we likely agree on a number of topics - but please don't assume broad swaths of our shared communities don't have great respect for those who risk and give more than they can imagine.

That said - much like Hrbek inspired an entire generation of kids to do the splits when stretching for a ball arriving at first base, Joe is an icon worth emulating in his play and class.

I can only imagine everyone wishes him well and time will reveal what he truly meant to the Twinkies for this generation.

Well my liberal, millennial cousin did 3 tours in Iraq removing IED's, and came home with pretty severe PTSD. What an ungrateful kid.

Man this place can be embarrassing sometimes.

Thankyou to all of you that shared your experiences with concussions. I feel fortunate now to not experiencing the after effects of various events of my "bulletproof" youth. While I had the athletic heart of a lion, the physical skill set fell a bit short. That meant many collisions with the ground and other players in: baseball, football. volleyball, and bicycling, (thank goodness for bowling). Somehow, I managed to escape my exploits without the impact of concussions and am only hampered by a mind that thinks it's body is 40 years younger than actual.