Not the kind of news you like to hear about your fantasy baseball cornerstone (in multiple “big money” pro leagues), but today the news made it’s way out that Yasiel Puig has spent his off-season living like a swine, gaining 26 pounds.
Do I think the guy could still hit even with the extra weight on him? Yes, probably. Do I think it’s another concerning sign and something I really didn’t want to read about a guy I’m excited about? This is absolutely brutal on Puig’s part. And at this point, I don’t expect him to work with the kind of fury it would take to burn 26 pounds in less than a month by Dodgers Opening Day; young metabolism be-damned.
Some places had Puig’s playing weight listed at 245 pounds. Do the math and carry the six, and that would put Puig just a pound over the 270 mark. This isn’t good for business.
The guy really is Manny Ramirez 2.0 – when I heard the news I thought back to when I was a kid, seeing Manny annually riding the bike around Indians camp and hearing through the press that he was going to be riding the bike and leaving his glove and bat aside in Spring Training until he lost the weight. Like a sign of spring every year, Manny just rolled in out of shape like it was routine. And equally routine, he would roll off his couch and hit like a machine.
But I know how guys are around Puig’s age. I was that age once. You’re athletic, you’ve never had a problem with weight before in your life. You stop watching things. You live like a hog. You eat whatever you want. You drink whatever you want. With no discipline to stand in the way you gain all that baby fat, and believe me if he put on 26 pounds he’s got some. I honestly bet Puig had lunches this off-season of 12 double chocolate chip cookies, followed up by a five hour nap through dinner time, only to wake up and slam nothing but mixed drinks all night long. This wreaks of irresponsibility. This isn’t Mike Trout “good weight”.
And it makes you realize that you have to come to appreciate the guys who bust their ass to come into camp in shape from day one. A lot of people take it for granted. It’s always something I appreciated as an observer of the game. It goes along with treating the whole thing like a job and not like a playground.