/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37278600/452396764.0.jpg)
Earlier this week, the news wasn't very good regarding Brandon Belt and his concussion. Bruce Bochy relayed the news that Belt was going to avoid physical activity for the next three to four weeks, which meant that if he wasn't going to miss the rest of the season, he was going to come awfully close.
Here's Brandon Belt talking to The Wheelhouse on 95.7 the Game, though, and he sounds much more optimistic than expected:
"
Highlights:
- Belt's problems are more vision-related than anything else. This is much better than the image I had of a player struggling with headaches and a foggy brain, at least from a live-your-life perspective. From a baseball player perspective, the eyes are kind of important.
- Belt hopes to be back in three to four weeks, when doctors hope to clear him. He's rehabbing his eyes with ocular exercises, which is about all he can do right now. He knows the brain is unpredictable, but he would be surprised to miss the rest of the season.
- While at the University of Texas in 2009, Belt was knocked unconscious after getting hit in the head with a pitch (!), doesn't remember the incident at all (!!), and was in the lineup the next day (!!!). Times have changed since then, man. Belt says that concussion was much, much worse. In one way that's comforting, considering that he recovered from that problem. In another way, it's scary because there's something of an exponential quality to concussions. The more they pile up, the worse they can get.
- Belt sounded like he was driving, so if he lives near you ... just keep that in mind.
The news still isn't good, but for some reason it was comforting to hear Belt talk about what's going on. Beats the idea of him supremely and constantly uncomfortable or otherwise in horrific pain. If he can make it back safely in 2014, that's a bonus, but mostly it was nice to hear him not audibly terrified about what's going on.