Kung Fu panda is kicking it on the DL
The first thing everyone looks to, whether it's fair or not: Is Pablo Sandoval's weight to blame for his injuries?
The first thing everyone looks to, whether it's fair or not: Is Pablo Sandoval's weight to blame for his injuries?
So goes the little song-and-dance — pop-and-lock, shake-and-bake — that has taken place with the San Francisco Giants for the past couple of seasons.
Everyone’s favorite homerun-hitting, bubblegum-bubble-blowing third baseman has once again landed on the 15-day disabled list.
Pablo Sandoval has literally made getting injured during the regular season an art form. During his tenure in an orange-and-black jersey he has placed on the DL four times in the past three seasons.
This is not to say the 26-year-old Venezuelan has been getting hurt by standing idly at third base watching the ball go by. Sandoval has slid into the splits, somersaulted over the dugout railing, and collided head-on with Buster Posey in order to make outs.
But as of Tuesday, the man famous for hitting two of three homers off of Kate Upton’s boyfriend in Game 1 of last year’s World Series is back on the DL with a strained peroneal tendon in his left foot.
And the first thing everyone looks to, whether it’s fair or not: Is Sandoval’s weight to blame?
Sandoval’s weight might not be ideal, but it shouldn’t be blamed for every injury the accident-prone third baseman sustains. Because blaming the 262 pounds the Kung Fu Panda is carrying around on every injury he has sustained is, well, far from accurate.
Sandoval lost a ton of weight before the 2012 season, clocking rigorous hours at Triple Threat Performance during the winter only to be sidelined in May after fracturing the hamate bone in his left hand during a sixth-inning at-bat.
The hand injury — not weight-related — required surgery, and started a run of 54 games Panda would miss in 2012.
No. 48 returned to the Giants lineup in June, and took off on another offensive hot streak to pass Mets third baseman David Wright in the All-Star voting.
But on July 24, he slid into the splits to get an out while playing first base against the San Diego Padres and found himself back on the DL with a strained hamstring.
It doesn’t matter how much you weigh: Hamstrings are fragile as all get-up, and sliding into the splits without properly stretching is going to hurt anybody.
Besides, this is the same injury that currently has center fielder Angel Pagan on the disabled list, and nobody’s squawking at him to call Jenny Craig, right?
Sandoval might be an All-Star, fan favorite, and threat when he comes up to the plate. All of that being said, Pablo Sandoval also makes for a great injury magnet.
Manager Bruce Bochy made it public prior to the 2012 post-season that he would like to see Sandoval lose more than a couple el-bees, and now critics are quick to jump on him to lose weight again.
Should Pablo shed some weight while rehabbing his ailing foot? Of course, especially when the skipper is adamant about it.
But is the weight a direct correlation to the strained foot?
As CSN’s Andrew Baggarly points out, Barry Zito suffered from a foot strain a couple seasons ago. Suffice it to say, nobody was jumping on Zito to drop a couple of pounds.
Pablo’s pound-age is still debatable. But linking it to his current injury doesn’t seem entirely accurate or fair.
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It’s really unprecedented for someone of his weight to try to play 3d base for a whole season. Wendy Thurm wrote about this for Bay Area Sports Guy back in February:
http://www.bayareasportsguy.com/the-skinny-on-pablo-sandovals-weight-and-performance/
Pablo also has gained weight every time he’s been on the disabled list, most notably in 2011.
Gotta say, Pablo is looking huge these days. As thousands stuck on Hoverounds and Rascals in their later years will tell you, excess weight is especially tough on the lower body, both exacerbating injuries and slowing recovery.
Panda doesn’t need to be rail-thin, but he’s at least 20-25 pounds over his ideal playing weight. If he can’t keep his weight in check, he’ll lower his value and shorten his career.
But he’s also still young with plenty of time to get the message. Look at someone like David Ortiz — another big guy — who has been able to manage his weight, stay reasonably fit and have a 17-year major-league career.