(Busch Stadium) One foul ball off the mask is enough, a second is cause for concern and that’s exactly why the St. Louis Cardinals removed catcher Yadier Molina in the top of the 7th inning of tonight’s game. Molina is now undergoing MLB Concussion Protocol.
“There is a baseline test which has been new to the game over the last several years to were we have a very good feel of whether or not a guy is right or not,” explained Mike Matheny. “So, he’ll go through all the battery of tests and then make sure he measures up to his former baseline and then we’ll go from there.”
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Molina took the first shot directly off his mask and fell over frontwards onto his knees. He was soon back to his feet as Matheny and trainer Chris Conroy came from the dugout.
“That first one obviously gave us some concern,” said Mike Matheny. “Went out and saw him, medical team was okay. He was ready to go, he just needed a second.”
“We’ve been through that conversation many, many times. He was fine. Trainer kind of put him through a couple of things and everything was okay.”
Molina stayed in the game, but the very next pitch was almost a repeat of the same play as the foul ball again struck Molina’s head. As Yadi reeled and even became sick, Matheny was already on his way out of the dugout to make the change with Carson Kelly coming in to replace Molina behind the plate.
“Unfortunately, the second one got him a little bit better,” said Matheny. “At that point, there was not going to be a conversation–we needed to get him out.
“Yeah, he just kind of didn’t have his balance and didn’t feel good,” said Matheny.
photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
