Jason LaRue retiring due to concussion sustained in brawl

[Thriller Ant]

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue is still experiencing debilitating symptoms from a concussion sustained during the Cardinals' brawl with the Cincinnati Reds in August and is retiring from baseball.

LaRue said after conferring with doctors, retirement was "a simple decision," according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"If I was in a different situation, it wouldn't be anything like this," LaRue said, according to the report. "But as a catcher you're so vulnerable to getting another [concussion]. All it takes is a foul ball to the head. Even as a backup that happened [three to five] times last year. It's not a question of if it would happen again, it's when."

LaRue, who estimates he has had "close to 20" concussions in his athletic career extending back to high school football, was kicked in the face by Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto during the Aug. 10 brawl at Cincinnati. Cueto, who was pinned against the backstop during the brawl, lashed out with his feet, kicking LaRue and Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter.

While a follow-up exam showed significant bruising, LaRue thought he would be fine. But in the following weeks he experienced painful headaches and nausea, according to the report. He was unable to drive or ride in a car, cook for himself or watch television. His doctors, concerned that he was in no condition to care for himself, sent him home from St. Louis to his family in Texas.

"Riding in a car going to the doctors I'd have to close my eyes," LaRue said, according to the report. "It's one of the hardest things in the world to explain. You don't feel right. It's been a little more than a month since it happened and I'm finally starting to feel more normal."

LaRue will rejoin the Cardinals in Pittsburgh on Monday, according to the report, allowing him to share a final road trip with the team and visit a concussion specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

LaRue, who has three children with his wife Heather, said he is not planning to take legal action against Cueto, according to the report.

"I was going to retire on my own terms," LaRue said, according to the report. "It's unfortunate that the blow that decided it came from someone kicking me in the head with spikes. I wouldn't say I would change things if you could rewrite history. They say things happen for certain reasons. In this case, I couldn't tell you why. Does it suck that my career is over because Johnny Cueto started kicking me in the head? Yes, it sucks.

"I expected to walk away when I felt it was right. The bottom line: it's unfortunate."

This makes me sick. Brawls like what happened between the Cards and Reds happen in baseball, but what Cueto did is pathetic. You do not go kicking wildly with metal cleats in the middle of a crowd of people. LaRue sounds like a very classy guy, more power to him for not sueing, and I wish him the best in whatever he does in his retirement.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

We, as fans, are excited when players charge the mound and the dugouts empty. We seem to forget sometimes that these guys are... people. I feel for Jason and his family. He's made more money in his career than most of us can even imagine, but this is more than a vocation for him. I can't imagine how hard of a decision it is to give up the game you've been playing since you were a toddler, the game that you love. I hope that all sports continue to look further into concussions and that better treatments and prevention methods are found as quickly as possible.

All of that being said, Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto shouldn't be looked at as a villain. He was surrounded by a mob of Cardinals and pressed against a wall. He had no other option for protecting himself. I like to say that hindsight is 20/15, and knowing the end result, he would have acted differently. But in the same situation as him, I'm not sure that any of us would have done differently.

 

[The Crock]

Cueto is a prick. He should get a huge suspension for this. Even though LaRue was a bench player, he did his job and was a workhorse. He pretty much only defended his teammate, he didn't want to fight... He didn't want to end his career. It's a a real shame when something like this happens. I'm not saying it was EXACTLY the same, but... this is just like when Rudy Tomjanovich got hit in the eye. It ended his career far too early.

 

[Big Sexy]

Cueto is a prick. He should get a huge suspension for this.

He did get a 7 game suspension but don't put this all on Cueto. He was mobbed by a group of Cardinals and pinned up against the back stop. If I'm in that same position I'm going to do everything I can to get away from it. Using his feet was the only option he had at that point to defend himself and it's unfortunate what happened but it's completely asinine to blame Cueto for everything.

 

[The Crock]

He did get a 7 game suspension but don't put this all on Cueto. He was mobbed by a group of Cardinals and pinned up against the back stop. If I'm in that same position I'm going to do everything I can to get away from it. Using his feet was the only option he had at that point to defend himself and it's unfortunate what happened but it's completely asinine to blame Cueto for everything.

I mean on top of the seven games. Yeah, I get he was pinned against the wall, but he was also the one doing the most fighting. He had Chris Carpenter right next to him, he was honestly the only "legit" threat. Look, it's not all Cueto's fault be he is definitely an asswipe for what he did.