Justin Morneau: There Comes A Point Where You Can Only Torture Yourself For So Long

Minnesota Twins slugger Justin Morneau told the Star Tribune that his reoccurring problems with concussions could end his career.

"Well, I don’t think there will be a career if it’s something I’m dealing with,’’ he told the paper. "That’s the reality of the whole thing. I’m obviously not going to continue to mess around with this if it continues to be a problem. There comes a point where you can only torture yourself for so long.

"It’s something I love to do but you keep preparing and you keep being left out, that’s something that nobody wants to go through. Obviously it’s been a tough winter that way. I try not to think about that kind of stuff. Obviously it’s crossed my mind and it’s something I’ve had to think about but when that stuff comes into my mind I continue to look for something positive, and look how far I've come in the last week or in the last month and just hope it continues to go well.''

Morneau missed the entire second half of the 2010 season after suffering a concussion July 7 of that year. Prior to the injury he had been voted a starter to the American League All-Star team, and was batting .345/.437/.618 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI in just 81 games. In 2011, he only managed to play in 69 games due to post-concussion symptoms.