In an interview with the Pioneer Press, Minnesota Twins fan favorite Joe Mauer revealed that he’s experienced occasional blurred vision ever since he suffered a season-ending concussion in 2013.
Mauer explained that he had a harder time picking up the ball in sunshine, and his numbers prove it. He was a much better hitter in 2015 during night games, according to Baseball Reference.
- Day games: .248 batting average, 3 HR, 25 RBI
- Night games: .276 batting average, 7 HR, 41 RBI
Mauer hit .324 and won the American League Silver Slugger award as a catcher in 2013, but 2014 and 2015 were different stories. His batting average dipped to .277 in 2014, all the way down to .265 last season.
Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk breaks Mauer’s post-concussion decline like this:
“Mauer was doing his usual thing leading up to his concussion in 2013, hitting .324 with a .404 on-base percentage and .880 OPS. Since returning from the brain injury he’s hit .270 with a .348 on-base percentage and .725 OPS while seeing his numbers decline across the board.”
Mauer told the Pioneer Press that he’ll experiment with sunglasses during day games this spring to see if it helps him pick up the ball better.
Minnesota played 61 of 162 games during the day last season.
Twins spring training begins a week from Sunday.
