After suffering brain trauma during August 10th Reds/Cards 1st inning brawl.
The culprit: Johnny Cueto
Farwell, Mr. LaRue. You were a class act and a very very good back up catcher.
The culprit: Johnny Cueto
Farwell, Mr. LaRue. You were a class act and a very very good back up catcher.
Jason LaRue isn't sure whether he was kicked three times, four times or five. Truth to tell, it probably doesn't matter. Regardless of the count he will never play again.
"I'm done," he says. "It's a simple decision."
Speaking from his home outside San Antonio, LaRue related what he has experienced in nearly six weeks since an Aug. 10 incident in which Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto lashed out during a first-inning scrum against the Great American Ball Park backstop.
Cueto's spikes raked Chris Carpenter's back and found LaRue's face, leaving the Cardinals' backup catcher with a severe concussion that only recently began to abate. When La Rue returned to St. Louis, specialists administered an impact test that revealed significant bruising and ordered the catcher home from the ballpark. Surprised by the level of concern, LaRue thought he was improving. Soon afterward he learned differently.
"When it first happened I thought it was just another concussion. I felt within a couple days I would be fine," La Rue recalled. "But I didn't feel good. And for a long time nothing progressed."
Resulting trauma to the brain left LaRue unable to drive or even to cook for himself. Minimal activity created sensations that he likened to seasickness, as LaRue would develop excruciating headaches and nausea.
Watching television or riding in a car for more than a couple miles brought on symptoms. Eventually doctors ordered him to rejoin his family in Texas since he was in no condition to be left alone here.
"Riding in a car going to the doctors I'd have to close my eyes," he said. "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."
La Rue can now drive himself and watch television but strenuous activity remains a no-no. At 36, he is 11 years into a major-league career that began with the 1999 Cincinnati Reds and brought him to the Cardinals in 2008.
La Rue could see the end of his career before the Aug. 10 melee in Cincinnati but the incident has made the question of his return moot.
La Rue estimates he has suffered "close to 20" concussions in his athletic career dating to high school football. Doctors warned him the next one might bring about symptoms at least, if not more, severe than what he now experiences.
"If I was in a different situation, it wouldn't be anything like this," LaRue said. "But as a catcher you're so vulnerable to getting another (concussion). All it takes a foul ball to the head. Even as a backup that happened 3-5 times last year. It's not a question of if it would happen again, it's when. Nobody can guarantee anything. It'll probably be worse.
"When I heard all that, I told them, 'You've answered all the questions I
need answered.'"
LaRue and his wife Heather have three young sons who often romped through the Cardinals post-game clubhouse. They frequently followed the team to road series, adding to a sense of family that made LaRue so fond of playing for the franchise.
"They're the most important thing to me," he says. "I'm not going to play the game and get brain-damaged just because I want to play. The game has treated me right. I don't have to work again."
The club has arranged for LaRue to rejoin the team in Pittsburgh Monday. The trip is two-fold: LaRue gets to share a final road trip with the club, and he will see a concussion specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
The game never offered LaRue assurances. He started for the Reds for most of five seasons but never realized 400 at-bats in a single campaign. LaRue's ability to handle a pitching staff extended his career even after his offensive skills started to erode following 2006 right knee surgery. Hip problems surfaced more recently. Yet he still relished handling a pitching staff that included close friend Chris Carpenter and a core of veterans appreciative of the craft's mental side.
LaRue never allowed himself a lavish lifestyle but takes comfort in the security he has achieved for his family.
"I'm 36. At this age, you know every year can be your last year," LaRue says. "From Day One I played like it was going to be my last when I walked on the field. I surpassed all my goals playing 11 years. Did I think it might be my last even before what happened? Absolutely. You never really know. But I know now."
Friends say that LaRue contemplated taking legal action against Cueto for the on-field assault that led to his condition but has since discarded the idea. La Rue says that he has no interest in pursuing the matter. However, he remains peeved over the actions of a player Carpenter described as 'some idiot."
"
I was going to retire on my own terms," LaRue says. "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."
"I'm done," he says. "It's a simple decision."
Speaking from his home outside San Antonio, LaRue related what he has experienced in nearly six weeks since an Aug. 10 incident in which Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto lashed out during a first-inning scrum against the Great American Ball Park backstop.
Cueto's spikes raked Chris Carpenter's back and found LaRue's face, leaving the Cardinals' backup catcher with a severe concussion that only recently began to abate. When La Rue returned to St. Louis, specialists administered an impact test that revealed significant bruising and ordered the catcher home from the ballpark. Surprised by the level of concern, LaRue thought he was improving. Soon afterward he learned differently.
"When it first happened I thought it was just another concussion. I felt within a couple days I would be fine," La Rue recalled. "But I didn't feel good. And for a long time nothing progressed."
Resulting trauma to the brain left LaRue unable to drive or even to cook for himself. Minimal activity created sensations that he likened to seasickness, as LaRue would develop excruciating headaches and nausea.
Watching television or riding in a car for more than a couple miles brought on symptoms. Eventually doctors ordered him to rejoin his family in Texas since he was in no condition to be left alone here.
"Riding in a car going to the doctors I'd have to close my eyes," he said. "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."
La Rue can now drive himself and watch television but strenuous activity remains a no-no. At 36, he is 11 years into a major-league career that began with the 1999 Cincinnati Reds and brought him to the Cardinals in 2008.
La Rue could see the end of his career before the Aug. 10 melee in Cincinnati but the incident has made the question of his return moot.
La Rue estimates he has suffered "close to 20" concussions in his athletic career dating to high school football. Doctors warned him the next one might bring about symptoms at least, if not more, severe than what he now experiences.
"If I was in a different situation, it wouldn't be anything like this," LaRue said. "But as a catcher you're so vulnerable to getting another (concussion). All it takes a foul ball to the head. Even as a backup that happened 3-5 times last year. It's not a question of if it would happen again, it's when. Nobody can guarantee anything. It'll probably be worse.
"When I heard all that, I told them, 'You've answered all the questions I
need answered.'"
LaRue and his wife Heather have three young sons who often romped through the Cardinals post-game clubhouse. They frequently followed the team to road series, adding to a sense of family that made LaRue so fond of playing for the franchise.
"They're the most important thing to me," he says. "I'm not going to play the game and get brain-damaged just because I want to play. The game has treated me right. I don't have to work again."
The club has arranged for LaRue to rejoin the team in Pittsburgh Monday. The trip is two-fold: LaRue gets to share a final road trip with the club, and he will see a concussion specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
The game never offered LaRue assurances. He started for the Reds for most of five seasons but never realized 400 at-bats in a single campaign. LaRue's ability to handle a pitching staff extended his career even after his offensive skills started to erode following 2006 right knee surgery. Hip problems surfaced more recently. Yet he still relished handling a pitching staff that included close friend Chris Carpenter and a core of veterans appreciative of the craft's mental side.
LaRue never allowed himself a lavish lifestyle but takes comfort in the security he has achieved for his family.
"I'm 36. At this age, you know every year can be your last year," LaRue says. "From Day One I played like it was going to be my last when I walked on the field. I surpassed all my goals playing 11 years. Did I think it might be my last even before what happened? Absolutely. You never really know. But I know now."
Friends say that LaRue contemplated taking legal action against Cueto for the on-field assault that led to his condition but has since discarded the idea. La Rue says that he has no interest in pursuing the matter. However, he remains peeved over the actions of a player Carpenter described as 'some idiot."
"
I was going to retire on my own terms," LaRue says. "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."
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