Usually, reporting to spring training is a time when players make news for how much weight they’ve lost. Just this year, for instance, Josh Hamilton made news for showing up to Angels camp in Tempe 20 pounds lighter than he played at last season.
Well, tell that to Mariners infield prospect Nick Franklin.
According to The Seattle Times, Franklin, who is 6-foot-1, spent the 2012 season — split between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma — playing at about 162 pounds. He says that he noticed the deficit late last season, when he ran out of energy and balls just didn’t seem to be traveling well off the bat.
“Last year, during the season, I felt my body starting to collapse on me,” Franklin said. “At the end of August, I weighed 162 pounds and I was hitting balls to the gap that probably should have been out and they ended up going off the wall. One of them bounced to the wall.
“Those balls could have been out, so I wanted to put a lot of weight on and try to get to at least 200 pounds by the end of the spring, take the season from there and see whether I can maintain it.”
So, Franklin and the organization agreed that he should put on some weight and get up to 200 pounds to help last throughout the grind of a full baseball season. And to do that, Franklin has been on a 6,500-calorie per day diet since last fall.
Franklin’s daily eating routine is impressive. Each of his three meals are 1,500 calories, alone, and he mixes in several 500-calorie shakes throughout the day. Some of his favorite haunts for high-calorie food include Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Bar and Grill and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
“It’s hard to hold it down sometimes,” Franklin said. “Other than that, I feel like I’m on a full stomach the entire day. There’s not one point where I’m hungry. I’m always full when I’m eating, let’s just say that. I’m always eating when I’m not supposed to be eating.”
Photo of the Night
You were a great American, Dr. Buss.
Photo via Twitter/Backyard Sports Blog
Quote of the Night
“Texas, especially Dallas, has always been a football town. The good with the bad is they’re supportive, but they also got a little spoiled at the same time, pretty quickly. You can understand a really true, true baseball town. There’s true baseball fans in Texas but it’s not a true baseball town.”
–Josh Hamilton reigniting one of the better baseball rivalries nobody really pays attention to
Tweet(s) of the Night
We realize it’s not news that Jose Canseco is certifiably insane, but, well, this string of tweets is out there even for him.
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[tweet https://twitter.com/JoseCanseco/status/303676196019908608 align=’center’]
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Video of the Night
Seriously, how many takes do you think it took to get this?
