The Boston Red Sox recalled Brock Holt from Pawtucket to be the 26th man for Sunday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees, and the utility man revealed just how tough it was to come back from his latest concussion.
Holt has had multiple concussions in his career, so the recovery process for the one that sent him to the 10-day disabled list on April 21 was arduous. It took three months for the 30-year-old to return, but there were instances when Holt wasn’t sure it’d ever happen.
“Earlier, doubts start to creep into your mind,” Holt told reporters Sunday, via CSNNE.com. “That first time I tried to rehab, I think I played two weeks worth of games and never felt good in any of them. You start thinking. When you’re down there trying to compete and play and you’re not able to do it, I think there were times when I wondered if I would ever get back to normal or if that was my new normal.
“But, I would say I had to get talked off the ledge a couple of times from (concussion expert Dr. Micky Collins) in Pittsburgh and my wife. They set me back on the straightened path, but it was hard, man. Emotionally, physically, something that obviously I would have rather not had to go through. But, like I said, it’s going to make me stronger and I’m glad to be back.”
Holt also got some advice from retired catcher and former teammate David Ross, as well as another less conventional source.
“I talked to him over the phone a couple of times, and then I saw him in Houston when we went to Houston and talked to him in person,” Holt said. “I talked to Brian Roberts with the Orioles who worked with Micky Collins, and I actually had a conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well, who kind of went through similar stuff as me. I think his was a little more intense.
“But it was nice talking to those guys, knowing that they got better, and that was big for me: being able to talk to guys who have been through it. You can talk to your training staff, your teammates, my family even, and you can explain how you feel, but no one really knows. … They’re living normal lives now.”
You can hear from Holt himself in the video from NESN’s “Red Sox Gameday Live” above.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
