On August 19th, 2013, Twins catcher Joe Mauer suffered a concussion following a foul tip off the bat of the Mets’ Ike Davis that hit him square in the top of his catcher’s mask. Nobody thought too much of it at the time; he even stayed in the game. But the next day he began to experience concussion-like symptoms, eventually leading to a stint on the DL and the Twins later deciding that for the sake of his brain, they would move him to 1st base to lessen the opportunities for further damage.
A solid plan, right? I mean yes of course the Twins would prefer to win more baseball games, and Joe Mauer playing catcher theoretically provides more value to them than Joe Mauer playing 1st base. But the overall health of the team’s most important player as well as ensuring he doesn’t suffer any further brain injuries that could lead to crippling disabilities in his future are even more important factors, right? Of course they are. What say you, Bob Sansevere of Twincities.com?
Face it, the guy is brittle wherever you play him. So why not let him play where he’s happiest? Maybe he’ll get his batting average back over .300 if he’s not in sulk mode. And maybe that $23 million a year Mauer makes won’t be as much of a waste of money as it is when it goes to a middling first baseman. And — there’s no maybe here — he would be easier to trade if he’s behind the plate, even if it’s not full time.
Oh boy.
I mean what does Bob care? It’s not HIS brain damage. Joe Mauer makes a boatload of money. These are the risks of playing professional sports for a living and if he didn’t care about the…I’m sorry I can’t even finish that sentence. Bob Sansevere’s entire premise is foolish nonsense.
