Good NYT article about the slimmer physiques in baseball. Attn: LisaM, it mentions Lolich.

[Captain Hilts]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/sports/baseball/27vecsey.html?hp

Among the biggest losers are Brett Myers and Ryan Howard of the championship Phillies, who lost 30 and 20 pounds. Yankees relief pitcher Brian Bruney, Mr. Avant-Garde himself, shed 25 pounds before last season by giving up beer and eating healthy food. He has slimmed down another 10 this year, and essentially does not look like the same person.

“You have to be a little skeptical, given the context of watching bodies change,” Dr. Gary Wadler, an internist and member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said Thursday. “The explanation then was that they were eating more and working out more. Now if you hear players say, ‘We changed our ways,’ all you can do is be suspicious.”

The model for clean living and technique over brute size is Derek Jeter of the Yankees, whose physique and hitting style have never fluctuated since he came up in 1995. Jeter seemed to be quietly seething last week when having to discuss revelations of steroid use by Alex Rodriguez. Not all of us did it, Jeter veritably hissed. That is an important fact to remember as players assert their inner athlete.

Dr. Joyner added: “Baseball players are not the most sculpted group of people. There are a lot of pudgy baseball players. If somebody lost their pudge and kept their muscle mass, there’s no way that would hurt them.”“Remember Mickey Lolich?” he said, referring to the chubby lefty who helped Detroit win the 1968 World Series. “The more weight he gained, the better he pitched. He said, ‘I don’t run the ball across the plate.’ ”

[nickgutierrez]

1. Rod Beck: "You can't pull fat."

This article also seems to have coined a new phrase: "active video games". I assume they're referring to the Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. (Sorry.)

I'm a little troubled by the observation that players "appear" to be lighter - there's a risk of confirmation bias here that I have trouble looking past.

[hughee99]

2. "A waist is a terrible thing to mind"

Rotund retired pitcher Terry Forster.


I think former Red Sox pitcher Rich "El Guapo" Garces would agree.

[LisaM]

3. Ha! Mickey Lolich has actually slimmed down - a LITTLE

After baseball, I think he went into the doughnut business (I am not making this up). But yeah, he did put on a little heft in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The first baseball game I ever saw was in the 70s and Lolich pitched and got a hit. He basically stretched it into a single with his speed.

I was at a Tigers game last summer and they brought out the 1968 Tigers and Mickey looked pretty good. Of course, Kaline never carried an ounce of fat and he still looked great, as did many of the others.

I wonder if the steroid users are all going to start dying young, the way pro football players have been. Brad Ven Plet just died recently - he was 57, and he dropped dead.

[Captain Hilts]

4. When Frank Howard got traded to the Tigers, he wore one of Lolich's shirts his first game.

TWO Loliches on the field!

[LisaM]

5. You can never got too much Mickey!

Love that guy.

[Captain Hilts]

6. It was a funny photograph, the two Loliches. Lolich pitched a LOT of innings. nt