Padres News: Struggling Catcher Austin Nola Looking to Get Back on Track

In Arizona, Austin Nola is working to improve his vision.

The 2023 season has been a nightmare for the San Diego Padres’ catcher Austin Nola. Currently, the 33-year-old catcher is in Arizona working to improve tracking the baseball. He's dealt with a neurological problem affecting his eye movement.

Now he's looking forward to getting back on track for the 2024 season.

This past March, just before Opening Day, Nola was hit in the face with a pitch. He suffered a cut over the bridge of his nose.

Since Nola passed the concussion protocol, he returned quickly. However, something clearly wasn’t right with the veteran catcher. In May, he began suffering unusual headaches after foul tips.

Late in May, the Padres optioned Nola to AAA. He had fogginess, so he underwent intensive neurological tests at both UCLA and UC Irvine to understand what was going on with Nola. The neurological puzzle was becoming clearer. He had an oculomotor disorder. Nola hasn’t played in AAA since August 2nd.

Nola is a fierce competitor, so he wants to return to his AAA team before its season ends on Sunday.

Nola’s official diagnosis is an oculomotor dysfunction affecting his brain’s ability to coordinate eye movements. This is crucial for any baseball player at any level. Unless a player can’t track the baseball, he can’t play.

Nowadays, when every pitcher seemingly throws 100-plus mile-per-hour, a player must have a great ability to coordinate his eye movement to succeed. He can’t succeed either offensively or defensively with a dysfunction in his eye coordination. 

Every baseball fan should be rooting for Nola to return to the major leagues.