As some of you are probably aware, Atlanta’s All-Star catcher Brian McCann was recently placed on the 15-day disabled list with what is being described as an “eye infection.”
The unfortunate truth is the Braves’ medical staff is unable to diagnose why McCann has blurry vision in his left-eye and are terming it an infection for administrative purposes only.
What the Braves do know is that the vision in McCann’s eye has mysteriously weakened since he had Lasik surgery 18 months ago.
Although I don’t know exactly what is going through Brian McCann’s mind right now, it’s a strong possibility he’s worried about his future as a baseball player if his sight doesn’t improve. Two people who can relate to McCann’s emotional state are Aaron Hill and Corey Koskie.
Hill and Koskie both suffered concussions on innocent looking plays on the baseball diamond. Both infielders were hurt on pop-ups; Hill collided with the diminutive David Eckstein, while Koskie fell to the ground but didn’t appear to hit his head.
Hill was hurt in May, Koskie in July and their concussions were serious enough that neither player returned that season.
This is where the commonalities end.
After going through months of set-backs last season, Aaron Hill was able to fully recover in the off-season. He is currently symptom free and has arguably been the Blue Jays best player thus far in 2009.
On the other hand, it took Corey Koskie 2 1/2 years to recover from the concussion he experienced in 2006. Finally this spring he was able to join Team Canada for the WBC and subsequently signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.
While in camp with the Cubs, his six-year-old son suffered a concussion while roughhousing with a sibling and was admitted to a local hospital. Koskie, being all too familiar with the effects of a head injury, stayed up all night worrying about his sons’ well being and contemplating his future in baseball.
His son fully recovered and the elder Koskie promptly retired. He was no longer willing to risk further injury by playing a game.
It’s remarkable how quickly life can change. All three of these players have experienced the game being stolen from them because of a life-altering ailment.
Often in sports we call Tommy John surgery or a torn ACL – serious injuries.
They aren’t.
What Brian McCann, Aaron Hill and Corey Koskie are enduring or have endured are serious injuries. I just hope McCann is fortunate enough to recover as well as Aaron Hill And knowing Corey Koskie, I’m certain he does too.