As of this week, Major League Baseball plans to return to play by early July. The season has been on hold for over a month and a half since the league shut down play due to player safety concerns related to COVID-19. The new season could be as short as 82 games and include reformed extra inning rules and even a universal designated hitter—all to make the season and the games move a bit faster.
For purists, it all signifies the end of baseball. For those of us who pay attention only after the All Star break, it should make almost no difference. In fact, given how a 100-plus game season often rewards teams with greater depth (read: higher pay rolls), a shorter 2020 may make for a more exciting, less-predictable post season birth; no team can afford a mid-season slump.
So in order for dominant teams like the Red Sox to stay dominant, they need their players (and especially their pitchers) to remain injury-free. Men’s Health caught up with five Sox players—Kevin Pillar, Matt Barnes, J.D. Martinez, Christian Vazquez, and Nathan Eovaldi—to learn how each player is getting his essential macronutrient in lockdown: protein.
We recommend the average male consume at least 30 grams of protein per meal. For an elite athlete, that number will be slightly higher.
To make sure they’re getting enough without pulling jaw muscles chewing, the Sox are supplementing their diet with plenty of shakes (though, with so much added fruit, many of the players just call them “smoothies”).
Pitcher Nathan Eovaldi says he consumes between two and three protein shakes/smoothies per day now. Eovaldi pitched in 23 games last season, but will likely make half that number of starts in the truncated 2020 season—with each of those starts being twice as important.
Getty Images
Another player with added pressure may be J.D. Martinez, who could be getting more playing time if the MLB institutes the universal DH rule. ESPN pointed out that the Sox only batted Martinez about a third of the time in previous seasons. His secret protein shake ingredient, he says, is apple juice.
The magic number for clinching a postseason spot is usually 100 games. With the new 2020 schedule, that magic number will be about 52, meaning every Martinez RBI and every Eovaldi K is that much more essential. We guess that makes every shake/smoothie essential too. How do you like them blended apples?
Source: Read Full Article