Anthony Rizzo’s head injury is atypical, but not abnormal, multiple neurologists believe.
The struggling Yankees first baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday, a day after he went through a battery of tests that revealed he had been suffering from post-concussion syndrome.
What made it strange was that, after an on-field collision with the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. on May 26, Rizzo passed MLB’s concussion protocol and didn’t immediately feel symptoms of a concussion.
Over time, though, he said he began to feel unwell.
He would wake up feeling hungover without having had any alcohol.
His brain felt hazy at times, as if he were in a fog.
His reaction time at the plate was slow.
He was missing pitches he had consistently hit his entire career.
He swung at some pitches thinking the ball was in one spot when it was in another.
“I would say less about rarity and more about it being a little bit more atypical. No single concussion realistically is going to present itself consistently, whether it’s the same patient or a different patient,” Dr. Ilan Danan, a sports neurologist at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles who is a consultant for multiple professional teams, told The Post in a phone interview. “There’s tremendous variability in how one responds to a concussive event. I would acknowledge it’s atypical in terms of the way it presented itself and the course of which it has played out.”
Two other neurologists expressed similar sentiments.
All concussions are different and can impact people differently.
“People don’t always have symptoms right away. Symptoms can come and go. The problem with concussions is that they are an invisible injury,” said Dr. Beth McQuiston, medical director of Abbott Laboratories’ diagnostics arm and a board-certified neurologist. “If you twist your ankle, you can see that your ankle is big. When you pull your hamstring, you can feel that your hamstring is off. When someone injures their brain, it’s difficult to [diagnose].”
Rizzo reported the issues to the team on Sunday, played in games Monday and Tuesday and saw a neurologist on Wednesday.
There isn’t a timetable for his return and he will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.
The plan is for reliever Jonathan Loaisiga to rejoin the Yankees on Monday.
He has been out since April 6 after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Loaisiga allowed two earned runs on four hits and struck out three in an inning of work for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.
Right-hander Keynan Middleton struck out two in a scoreless inning in his Yankees debut Friday, a 10-3 loss to the Orioles.
Middleton was acquired from the White Sox on Tuesday.
The Yankees released left-hander Tanner Tully on Friday, enabling him to sign with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
The Yankees optioned left-hander Nick Ramirez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game.