Veteran first baseman Justin Morneau heads to the Minnesota Twins’ spring training camp
Former Most Valuable Player, Justin Morneau, recently reported to the Minnesota Twins’ spring training camp. The versatile Twins’ hitter took the opportunity to make it to the work-out zone to see the players preparing for the challenge coming in the 2011
Major League Baseball season.
The veteran first baseman sustained a concussion from a powerful knee to the head in the last season. Morneau was expected to return to the baseball circuit in the All Star game, but he overestimated his chances for a full recovery.
The player missed 81 games in the season and at camp, recently, he talked about the situation with the press in a news conference. The player is expected to practice today and it will be an interesting take on how well he gets to perform with his team-mates.
The ace hitter has been cleared by the doctors for all other activities, except for playing baseball on the field.
"I'm not going to be playing in the first four or five games," Morneau said. "We'll see how things go after that. Hopefully things will go as they have been (in Arizona). In the last month, things have progressed a lot. I wouldn't say I'm 100 percent yet,
but I'm close. Just one final hump to get over."
Morneau, who had looked at an earlier return to the game, reflected on his poor interpretation of the injury he had sustained during the season. The British Columbian native talked about his foolhardy approach to the situation.
"I wasn't being realistic with myself back then," Morneau said. "It's been a battle all winter. I've done everything possible to take care of this thing and be ready. We're hopeful that April 1st in Toronto we will be on the field with the teammates."
It is interesting to note that Morneau sustained his injury against the Toronto Blue Jays’ John McDonald on 7 July 2010. Morneau will face the Blue Jays again if he returns for an opening day feature in April.
It will be interesting to see how Morneau is able to work-out in the training camp and improve his performance. The Twins will be happy to see the veteran player return to their line-up for the upcoming season.
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