Oh yeah. He definitely needed pre-season. Baseball hasn’t quite caught up to hockey in that hockey players seem to come into camp in great shape and are there to largely familiarize themselves with systems and get game ready.
The thing about Kirk is that, if he lost 50 pounds, he’d still be clinically obese (using BMI which is a ####ty metric I know). I don’t think we are really seeing the effects a guy who missed camp but a guy whose body is just kind of wearing out and he’s only 24. The good news is that he is only 24 and he can get things back on track but the Blue Jays really need to have some really important conversations about what it takes to be a professional and establish a long term career in this game. He can only ride his nearly elite bat to ball skills for so long and I worry that he’s ridden those skills to the end of their natural progression.
As a guy who has to squat for hours 3-4 times a week, that weight will definitely impact his lower joints which will, in turn, absolutely impact his ability to drive the ball at the plate.
Last edited by ben voyonsdonc; 07-09-2023 at 04:28 PM.
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