It is officially 'Best Shape of Their Lives Season.'
Go through any Major League Baseball clubhouse in these early days of spring training and there will be a familiar refrain, spreading the narrative that players are heading into the new season in tip-top condition.
Well, appearing on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast, Jonathan Papelbon has a warning for all those ready to soak in the optimism.
"The percentage of players that say they are in shape and the best shape of their lives and they are ready, have got to be 90-plus. But what they actually are has got to be 30 or 40 percent," said the former Red Sox/Phillies/Nationals closer. (For Papelbon's comment on conditioning, got to the 31-minute mark of the below accompanying audio file.)
Examples? Papelbon had one that jumped to mind: The always ultra-athletic outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
"Ellsbury, every year, man, it used to drive me crazy," Papelbon said. "I was like, ‘Dude, we have got 162 of these and another 30 in spring training.’ And I was like, ‘You’re there running 4.2 40’s. Suave Mente, bro. You don’t have to prove anything because everybody knows you’re in shape.’"
Papelbon, whose last year in the majors was 2016, did note how teams have wised up to the idea that February is just the start of a marathon, not a sprint.
"The players and the trainers that understand the grind and understand how to stay healthy are the ones that win championship," he said. "There is no question about it. And that’s why so much money and so much attention is being spent on it now where how it used to be.
"Guess what? If if goes out that they are not in shape or they proved to not be in shape then it’s a problem."