Padres' Jake Cronenworth Played With Concussion for Nearly 3 Weeks

San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth has seen some career-worst struggles at the plate this season, but these issues may not have been his fault.

The veteran was placed on the 7-day concussion injured list on Tuesday after playing through concussion symptoms for multiple weeks.

On April 18, Cronenworth was cleared from concussion protocol after being hit by a pitch on the chin. However, he started to feel symptoms days later.

San Diego then traveled to Denver and Mexico City for two series, both places that have high altitude. Cronenworth didn't think anything of the symptoms that he was experiencing, believing that the headaches and issues were due to the changes in the altitude.

The veteran had never dealt with a concussion before, so he didn't know what it felt like.

“There are days that you have that you really don’t feel great when you’re [in elevation],” Cronenworth said to reporters. “I couldn’t really tell. The first day we were in Colorado, looking back on it, was not a great day. But the next day was good, and then it kind of went back and forth. And since we’ve been since we got back from that trip from Mexico, it just hasn’t been good.”

Cronenworth said he woke up on Monday feeling as if he was "hungover for like the fourth straight day.” That's when he decided to let the staff know, and they placed him on the injured list for further evaluation.

“Since I’ve been hit, there have been good days, there have been bad days,” Cronenworth said. “Looking back at some of the days that I had, I probably should have said something a lot earlier. But I had never had a concussion, so I didn’t know what it felt like.”

Cronenworth had been struggling at the plate this season, hitting .144 with one home run, four runs batted in and an OPS of .468. Now, however, there's a clear reason for it. He said he had trouble locating pitches, and when he made certain movements, he got dizzy.

Every concussion is different, and the symptoms can present over time. Unfortunately for Cronenworth, he just happened to have one that saw symptoms be delayed, and it ended up hurting him.

But he is now recovering and focused on getting back to being himself at the plate for the team once he returns. The former All-Star remains a key piece to the Padres' offense this season, and the hope is that he will turn things around.

“We felt like this was the best decision for him,” manager Craig Stammen said. “I wish we’d have caught it earlier. But just stemming back from when he got hit on the chin, I think it’s one of those concussions that didn’t present itself right away or the symptoms didn’t present themselves right away, and then it’s kind of just not gone away over the course of time.”

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