Tommy Joseph in good spirits after head injury
ALLENTOWN - Tommy Joseph had been hit in the forehead with foul tips. The catcher had been hit on the top of the head. On Monday night, Joseph was hit in the jaw. He said it caught him in a different way than any ball ever has.
"It caught me in a different spot and jarred me a little different," Joseph said. "After that, I just wasn't feeling right."
Joseph, 23, remained in triple-A Lehigh Valley's game for another inning before talking to the team's trainer. Joseph said he was out of the game 30 seconds later. He was placed on the disabled list Tuesday afternoon.
He said he had not yet been diagnosed with a concussion, an injury that has plagued him in the past. Despite his history, Joseph said he is not considering a position change.
"Just from talking to the doctors and stuff, there's not a whole lot to worry about," Joseph said. "I just have to figure out how to get my big head out of the way."
Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, said he did not know the severity of Joseph's injury yet. He said the team would follow the proper protocol, which calls for a seven-day evaluation period.
"I feel good. I don't feel like I've felt in the past," Joseph said. "I don't really have any symptoms today. I'm in good spirits."
Joseph is hitting just .123 in 73 at-bats this season. He once ranked as the Phillies' top position prospect before his career was sidetracked by a series of concussions. Joseph had his first one in 2010. He had another two years later while he was with the Giants organization.
Joseph joined the Phillies in July 2012 as the centerpiece of the Hunter Pence trade with San Francisco. Another concussion came the next April, which caused him to miss most of his first full season in the Phillies' system. He said he was removed from the game Monday as a precaution because of his concussion history.
"If I get hit again - in say the fourth of the fifth inning - and it's just as good, that could put me down for the count like it did in 2013," Joseph said. "I don't want that to happen and nobody else does, either."
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