The 2011 Good Shapers Nominations
We did it last year and found that there wasn’t much in the way of correlation between getting mentioned as being in “the best shape of your life” and actually outperforming the projections, but maybe this year will be different. Maybe this crop of worked-really-hard-and-had-laser-eye-surgery-and-showed-up-to-camp-focused guys will actually show that all that work really does pay off.
In the form below, please put the player’s name who you have seen referenced as making noticeable improvements this winter, and then in the second box, please include a link to the source material so that we can verify which improvement was noted upon their arrival to camp.
By using the form, I’ll have an easier way of collecting the guys to follow throughout the year. You can also leave the nominated player in the comments if you want to help people not repeat a submission that has already been made.
Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.
Kudos to the guy who cited the source “everywhere” for Pablo Sandoval’s nomination. That made me laugh.
I asked this via Twitter, but I’m not sure if a Tweet counts as a “source”. Jerry Crasnick tweeted this:
“RT @jcrasnick Rickie Weeks getting bigger. The guy is built like an NFL strong safety. Good luck on DP takeout slides, guys.”
That’s kind of vague. We’ll hope for something better.
That’s fair, I saw a few other tweets about Jordan Schafer packing on 15-20 lbs, but I’ll try to find something more concrete.
not sure how much he’s put on this off-season specifically, but here’s a quote from braves’ beat writer dave o’brien:
“Schafer, whose weight dipped to 169 in the weeks after surgery, is a wiry 202 now.” so there you go. best schafe of his life.
I loved Jim Leyland’s comment on Miggy Cabrera:
“I know for a fact, without getting into this situation, I know for a fact Miguel Cabrera is in the best shape of his life. He’s stronger than he’s ever been, and he’s quicker than he’s ever been. … I think Miguel Cabrera is probably going to have the biggest year of his life.”
http://www.freep.com/article/20110218/SPORTS02/110218019/Tigers-Jim-Leyland-Miguel-Cabrera-will-probably-biggest-year-his-career
Scotch must have some very redeeming nutritional benefits.
It does.
What about guys going the other way? i.e. Pedro Alvarez supposedly gaining 15 lbs?
Also, Joba.
apparently the yankees are pissed that joba put on weight, but he says it’s all muscle because he built a gym in his house, so he says he can throw harder and has more stamina. it will be interesting to see if it ends up helping him and the yankees have to bite their tongues.
Supposedly is the word because he did not gain 15 pounds. People need to hop off his back and find better things to complain about. His weight never hindered him from performing judging by his numbers and seeing him in a couple of games.
And I was talking about Pedro Alvarez by the way
pablo sandoval #1
I loved the excerpt from this ESPN article about how CC Sabathia lost 25 lbs after he stopped eating full boxes of Cap’n Crunch. What dedication to his craft!
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6120676
“Sabathia, who had knee surgery this offseason, said he is 25 pounds lighter after he stopped eating full boxes of Cap’n Crunch.”
I think I feel sick already.
I think I feel diabetes already.
Reminds me of Jerome Bettis, a diabetic, eating full boxes of Lucky Charms.
Miguel Olivio reported coming to camp in the “4th best shape of his life.”
http://www.sportspickle.com/news/5238/baseball-player-reports-to-camp-in-the-4th-best-shape-of-his-life
I wonder what his top 3 shapes were. Trapezoid, equilateral triangle, oblate spheroid?
They seem to put all their thought into the headlines there, the stories are a letdown. I did like the idea behind a “recommended” story further down that page – ‘Game Halted To Honor A-Rod’s Achievement of “True Yankee”‘.
This is the right idea, we should be looking at the “best shape” thing on a scale: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/17/baseball-player-reports-to-camp-in-the-fourth-best-shape-of-his-life/
I love how 25 push ups a day is considered trying to get in shape… olivo is one hack of a lazy guy
sportspickle.com is like the Onion, but not as good.
aka fake news
Dayan Viciedo… Already read about 4 articles about him being svelte for this spring.
What about the guy your screenname is for? I heard G-Becks “looks like the terminator” according to Joe Cowley.
I heard G Beck raped and murdered a girl in 1990. He won’t address the allegations! Why won’t he?!?!?!?!?!
For what it’s worth, I’m in the best shape of my life.
Just saying.
Jack Wilson loses 15 pounds, hamstrings are healthy.
http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110220&content_id=16691354&vkey=news_sea&c_id=sea
Yeah, Shannon Drayer’s been all over the story as well; then Geoff Baker weighed in today: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2014294753_mari22.html
Lance Berkman’s in such great shape that he’s going to be able to play 150+ games in RF this season!
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_21dd4195-2a5a-526b-a659-f9c9efe3c9c5.html
Question: You guys mentioned “laser eye surgery.” Would regular surgery count, too? I’m thinking Brett Gardner had surgery on his wrist and the general thought is that it’ll affect his contact-rates and ISO.
this is a guy who is not just in the best shape of his life, but possibly the best shape any player has ever been in ANY lifetime:
Roger Bernadina
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2011/02/roger_bernadina_is_jacked.html
looks unreal
He has almost as much awesome in his biceps as Brian Wilson had on his feet.
[1] Roy Jones Jr?
[2] Bernadina just has large muscle bellies. It does look impressive though.
Check out the size of his bi’s versus the rest of his body. His arms belong on a body that is 6’3 235.
Heh Heh.
JRoll tryna not hurt his legs:
http://www.terezowens.com/jimmy-rollins-hires-wife-as-yoga-instructor/
Has there been any attempt at differentiating between these, and comparing similar ones? Pablo Sandoval losing 22+ lbs is more significant than A-Rod losing 5-6 lbs (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2014295175_base22.html)
I’ve only seen a couple articles about this, but they seemed to lump all “Best Shape of Your Life” stories together.
Russell Martin is in the best shape of his entire career: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/story/2011/02/07/spf-martin-yankees.html.
Apparently this is because he trained with an Ultimate Fighting Champion during the off-season. Because no baseball skill is quite as important as good face-punching.
I can think of at least three Red Sox games that have been won due to face-punching skills:
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rlz=1R1WZPB_en___US362&biw=1024&bih=580&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=coco+crisp+james+shields&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rlz=1R1WZPB_en___US362&biw=1024&bih=580&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=jason+varitek+alex+rodriguez&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rlz=1R1WZPB_en___US362&biw=1024&bih=580&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=julian+tavarez+joey+gathright&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=
Is it possible to be “in the best shape of your life” when your surgically-repaired hip and knee aren’t 100%?
http://twitter.com/eboland11/status/35024650543185920#
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2011/02/17/thursday-morning-notes-martins-knee-and-riveras-arrival/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LohudYankees+%28The+LoHud+Yankees+Blog%29
Maybe if your hip and knee plagued you for your entire life? Though in that case, you probably wouldn’t be a pro baseball player…
Manny ramirez according to a Ken Rosenthal tweet.
Rotowire on Aramis Ramirez
“Impact: Ramirez reportedly worked hard during the offseason and put on 6-8 pounds of muscle. “
I just saw on ESPN where he’s lighter than he has ever been outside of his rookie season.
He has been *gasp* running and learning to sprint in a way that’s easier on the hamstrings.
I hope he’s worked on his pointing skills in case the Rays plop him in the outfield at some point.
If Sandoval is really the 240 that’s been publicized, then he has lost a LOT of weight. He was probably at least 20 pounds over his media guide figure, and last year it wasn’t uncommon to see speculation that he was near 300 lbs. Can’t wait to see if he bounces back this year (though solidifying his body mass might make him less bouncy, which would be a cruel twist of irony).
Chase Headley gained 20 lbs.
http://twitter.com/FollowThePadres/status/38977661095247872
Matt Kemp lost 15 lbs.
http://twitter.com/dylanohernandez/status/40058140045217792
Chris Volstad had LASIK.
http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_baseball_marlins/2011/02/florida-marlins-chris-volstad-undergoes-lasik-eye-surgery.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+marlinsblog+%
Carlos Gonzalez gained 22 lbs.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110221&content_id=16699736¬ebook_id=16699758&vkey=notebook_col&c_id=col&partnerId=rss_mlb
Sorry, none of these are the original sources I read, but …
Josh Beckett
http://vodpod.com/watch/5549824-josh-beckett-reports-to-spring-training-in-good-shape
John Lackey:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2011/02/spring-shape-a-lighter-john-lackey-eyes-red-sox-revival/1
http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/pitchers_and_catchers_report.html
David Ortiz:
http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/will_red_sox_slugger_david_ort.html
Daisuke Matsuzaka
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/columns/story?columnist=edes_gordon&id=6130628
http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/pitchers_and_catchers_report.html
Darnell McDonald
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/02/21/mcdonald_adds_to_his_body_of_work/
Actually the Darnell McDonald is the original…
http://blog.triblive.com/bucco-blog/2011/01/12/tabata-beefs-up-hoping-for-homers/
Apparently Jose Tabata has gained 2 pounds…of muscle.