Sarris: Infrared saunas, DNA testing for diet, and MAT: Are baseball’s one-percenters paying for science, or pseudo-science?
From SABR member Eno Sarris at The Athletic on January 30, 2020:
In the late afternoon sun this past September, Matt Boyd was contemplating the tough stretch he was enduring. Though he’d struck out 11 in his last six-inning outing, the Tigers pitcher had also given up four homers to the Twins. He was energetic and upbeat about the future, but also willing to run me through the process he was using to try and figure out where the homers were coming from.
We talked about his fastball command, his mechanics, his changeup, his predictability, and we eventually got around to his body. The large investment he’d recently made in reshaping it had already paid some dividends — Boyd was in the midst of putting up career highs in innings and strikeouts — but he was really excited about what a full offseason would bring with the benefits of improved nutrition in his pantry, and recovery tech in his home.
“Your career is a whole pie,” Boyd said before that game against the Athletics. “You got your mechanics, your pitch design, your weighted balls, your regimented workout routines, you got game prep, and last year I learned a new piece — how can I change my body?”
An offseason trip to the Athletic Training Institute in Bellevue, Washington over the offseason inspired the lefty, who is due $5.3 million this year in arbitration, to pick up some nifty recovery tech and revamp his diet.
Read the full article here (subscription required): https://theathletic.com/1554206/2020/01/30/infrared-saunas-dna-testing-for-diet-and-mat-are-baseballs-one-percenters-paying-for-science-or-pseudo-science/
Originally published: January 30, 2020. Last Updated: January 30, 2020.