What’s The Right Weight For Playing Baseball?

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Some sports demand a certain level of physical fitness and weight control. Soccer players at the top level don’t have an ounce of body fat on them, while basketball players also tend to be fine physical specimens, conforming to well-planned out diets and fitness regimes. Boxing and other contact sports will even have a weight class to fall into, ensuring a competitor fits within a certain range. Football is different; big players are part and parcel of the game, but it’s perhaps surprising that there are big players in baseball as well.

From Pablo Sandoval to Prince Fielder, baseball has seen some large men compete over the years, but is it something an aspiring player needs to consider? Are weight and condition a barrier to getting ahead in the sport?

What is a big player?

There are two types of ‘big’ in baseball; tall and big, or borderline overweight. Take the example of six-foot-seven-inch Aaron Judge, a behemoth and the tallest player in baseball history to have a 50-homer season. At 282 pounds, Judge is classed as 31 on a BMI calculator, which is officially obese. Obese, and hitting 50 homers a season? If there’s hope for him, there’s hope for others, right? 

There is, but the metrics around BMI are not kind to some other players who have shone when they stepped up to the plate. Indeed, the difference between obese and overweight ‘taints’ Pablo Sandoval, currently with the Staten Island FerryHawks, but who played Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves. He was almost a foot shorter than Judge but not a whole lot lighter. At 268 pounds, his BMI while playing was 37 – that’s way above being overweight (25-29.9) and well into the realms of serious obesity. Remember, Sandoval was a two-time All-Star in 2011 and 2012 and a three-time World Series winner.

Is it a hindrance?

It would appear that weight is not a serious hindrance to playing baseball. We’ve shown you two players who are classified as obese, but there have been others – Prince Fielder and Jeff Fulchino are examples. At six-foot-two-inches and 215 pounds, even Babe Ruth was classed as overweight, a man who played in one of the greatest teams ever to grace baseball. It would not seem to be such a holdup for young players wanting to break through.

That could be a fallacy; whilst the modern players classed as obese are mostly tall, very few break through when they’re overweight. The issue is perhaps more about perception. These days, overweight, obese, or in shape, players are judged on attitude and application as much as they are on their ability. If three players have the skills to break through, the one who is perceived to be overweight is less likely to be picked purely on the image they’re projecting, and that won’t be affected by Aaron Judge or Babe Ruth’s size.

What can you do to combat your weight?

Firstly, if you’re an aspiring baseball player, be very clear on the difference between size and weight – they’re not the same thing in much the same way obesity and overweight are not the same thing. You can be heavy, like Aaron Judge, but as a result of your height and build. However, Pablo Sandoval was large for his size, and whilst he weighed less than Judge, he was perhaps not in as good shape, coming in at under six feet.

The best advice we can give is to stay fit. The BMI calculator has many people classed as obese and overweight that are not. Some people are naturally well built, and remember, muscle has weight as well. If you feel you’re carrying excess fat and you exercise and work out to shift it, you might not actually see your weight drop.

As a player, you’re likely to have a good fitness regime with training, so the key is in the kitchen. Seek to eat as healthily as you can; no junk food, cut down on alcohol, cheese, and saturated fats. Chewing gum helps as well, not just during games, as it suppresses appetite and the temptation to snack. You don’t need to hit a fad diet to hit home runs but just look after yourself. Your body may be big, and you may not conform to a BMI chart, but if you eat right and train right, then you should stay in decent shape, and in the coach’s good books.