Okay, listen. I did my best for as long as I could, but at the height of quarantine, I was drinking and snacking and Taco-Belling more than I have since college – which, let’s just say wasn’t great. Call it therapeutic, call it boredom, call it stress eating. Whatever. I stopped working out and decided to stop caring about nutrition, as I watched the world around me crumble. But that’s why I’m not a professional athlete (and that’s the only reason!)
While I was off drowning my sorrows in Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, Anthony Rizzo was taking the extra time to transform his body from something every Italian grandmother would love … to something every Italian grandmother would say “You looka too skinny … you no eat anything?” (In my head, that’s a spot-on impression of about 13 people in my life).
He wasn’t exactly enormous before, but this transformation is truly impressive!
https://twitter.com/CubsZone/status/1270055374398410752?s=20
That starting frame, alone, has me rubbing my glasses in disbelief:
That is simply a fundamentally different body than we’ve seen from him in the past. And indeed, according to his trainer, he worked hard for it: “Hereโs what 12wks of grinding and determination looks like. 6 days a week these guys @arizz_44 and @mikenapoli25 showed the Big League mental toughness for self improvement! Each lost 25+ lbs😳 They did the time, it didnโt do them💪😎 #proudtrainer #commitment.”
You can click through the slide show for more:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDzQ0BsTkl/
Obviously, the concern for any dramatic loss in weight for a hitter is an equal or worse loss in power, but Rizzo’s got a lengthy track record and plenty of talent to make this frame work just fine (to say nothing of whatever benefits some added flexibility and speed could do for his bat speed, running, and overall production). Moreover, you might even hold out hope that 25+ fewer pounds could help him avoid the annual back problems that’ve plagued his career at some point in every season.
So, yeah, Rizzo. Way to absolutely not let this quarantine go to waste. I wish I could say the same for myself, but I’ll settle for a speedier first baseman, whenever baseball returns.