Cardinals’ backup catcher Jason LaRue, who still feels lingering effects from getting kicked in the head during a brawl with Cincinnati, has decided to retire after discussing the situation with doctors and family members. You’ll remember it was Reds’ pitcher Johnny Cueto who kicked his way out of a mass of players after he was pinned against the backstop in a game in Cincinnati back on August 10th.
LaRue was quoted as saying, “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.”
LaRue, by his own estimates, figured he had close to 20 concussions in his career going all the way back to playing football in high school. He’ll join the Cardinals in Pittsburgh for the final road trip of the season and then visit a specialist.
