ValleyCats' Aaron Whitley unfazed by season-ending concussion

TROY – Tri-City ValleyCats center fielder Aaron Whitley would have liked to finish his rookie season on his terms.

Instead, the Niskayuna native will end the year on the 60-day injured list after running into outfield walls twice in three weeks. 

“Personally, I’d rather be out there, obviously,” Whitley said. “Everybody wants to play.”

Not everyone plays defense like Whitley, who fearlessly patrols center field at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium and other ballparks. He earned the ESPN SportsCenter No. 2 play on June 4 for his brilliant diving grab in right-center against the Sussex County Miners in Troy, among a handful of his highlight-reel plays this season.

“It’s fun, too, getting texts from people I haven’t talked to in a while,” Whitley said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, dude, I saw you on SportsCenter! ‘ It’s a cool thing.”

However, his all-out style worked against him in his two painful mishaps.

The first fence was padded in Kinston, N.C. Whitley collided with it while making a catch on July 30 against the Down East Bird Dawgs. Whitley hurt his neck and went on the injured list.

He came back on Aug. 18, only to be re-injured a day later when he dove into a wooden fence at the Brockton (Mass.) Rox. Whitley suffered a concussion and lower back strain on the play, which resulted in an inside-the-park home run.

“It was just a deep fly, straightaway center,” Whitley recalled. “I was going back, back, back, back and then I went into almost a dive/slide sort of thing and just the wall was right there and I went, bang, straight into it. This one was worse because that (wall on July 30) was padded and this one was straight head into the wall.”

The ValleyCats decided to shut down Whitley, who went on medication for a week and had to go through concussion protocols.

“It’s unfortunate (the concussion) happened the second game back, which is like, ‘What’s going on here?” Whitley said. “But I’d rather have that than getting afraid and pulling up at the wall or something.”

Whitley said he won’t take a more cautious approach when he returns. At the University of Richmond, he was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year two years ago.

“I’m not going to change the way I play,” Whitley said. “Some people might be like, ‘Maybe go a little less, pull up, play it off the wall.’ But I’m not going to do that because what pitcher’s going to look out and see his center fielder scared of the wall and be happy about it? I can’t do that to them.”

Whitley also gave the ValleyCats offensive production this season. He batted .333 with four home runs, 25 RBIs and 19 steals in 21 attempts in 52 games.

“You always think you’re going to do well,” he said. “But yeah, I think I definitely did for my first professional year. I probably exceeded even my own expectations. Hit some home runs, which is cool.”

The ValleyCats are on the road for the final week of the regular season, which ends Sunday. ValleyCats manager Greg Tagert said he thinks Whitley can be part of the rebuild for Tri-City, which is 38-57 and traded several core players this season.

Tagert said Whitley needs to be mindful of concussion risk when he returns to action.

“He’s had a wonderful year,” Tagert said. “But that really put a damper for him on the season.”

Whitley, younger brother of Tampa Bay Rays’ 2015 first-round pick Garrett Whitley, said he’d be open to a second season in Tri-City.

“I’m definitely not opposed to returning if they ask me back,” Aaron Whitley said. “I’d definitely give it thought. I love playing here, so if they want me back, we’ll see.”

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This article originally published at ValleyCats’ Aaron Whitley unfazed by season-ending concussion.