I have no idea about baseball, obviously, but this is something that I have asked myself for a long time. So, why are some professional baseball players, that have to run fast, kind of fat and look out of shape? I hope it does not come around judgemental, as I myself am not in good shape. I‘m just curious. Thank you.
In: Biology
Because you can be fast for 100 feet and be slightly overweight. Nothing in baseball requires the body of Thor.
One of the more important attributes for baseball players is flexibility and durability. You have 162 games in 6 months, that means a lot of games and a lot of keeping care of your self. And most of these guys can probably do a perfect split with no problem.
And as my wife just commented – little bit of extra meat on the bones gives a little more cushion and water retention so in case you have a long half inning out on the field, you don’t bonk.
There are a lot of things in the game of baseball that you can specialize in that don’t necessarily require being in peak physical condition. However, very few elite players in any sport are out of shape like you say. One exception is Colon the pitcher who is so consistent pitching he doesn’t have to be in great shape
Your image of healthy is skewed, it is not healthy to look like a bodybuilder, a model is generally not the most physically fit.
People who actually focus on sport tend to not look quite as fit and have higher body fat percentage.
There are a few things going on here.
First, it’s true that much of baseball requires skills that don’t require you to be a ripped Adonis. Making contact with a 88 mph breaking ball or a 99 mph fastball — or even distinguishing between the two almost instantaneously — is a key skill that isn’t necessarily well correlated to weight. Yeah, you can’t be a complete lard ass and not be able to make it around the bases if you mash a homer, but you also don’t have to be Usain Bolt.
Secondly, other responders here have noted that a lot of defensive positions don’t require thinness. Catchers have “catchers’ legs” (thicker thighs and glutes) because of their need to squat for ages and ages. Young pitchers often need to condition to put on weight to protect their arms and legs from constant strain. Other positions that you can get away with having a less classically “fit” athlete: first base, pitchers (sometimes), and, of course, the Designated Hitter who doesn’t need to play defense at all!
And that leads into the major point. Baseball is a balance between offense and defense, like most sports, but in recent years especially the strategy in baseball has been to prioritize hitting for power over “small ball.” Due to changes in the game over time, home runs are highly valued, strikeouts (which tend to come more when you’re trying to smash the ball as opposed to just making contact) aren’t as discouraged, and teams will have their batters swing away even in cases where defensive shifts mean that the batter could easily bunt for a single. Teams have made the calculus that the slugger is more valuable than stringing two or three singles together to score a run. So you take some risk on defense with bigger, slower players and try to outscore your opponent.
TL/DR – you don’t need to be a sprinter to be good at baseball, it can be an advantage to have a little extra heft to protect you in certain positions, and the game has changed to more highly value the big brawny guys who can swing for the fences over the speedy guys who can single, steal second and third and score on a wild pitch.
I think it really depends on their defensive position. Usually, catchers, first base and third base players are fat because these positions don’t really require any running/athleticism . A catcher just needs to catch/throw, a 1B usually just needs to catch to get the out, 3B usually just needs to field simple ground balls and throw to 1B. Plays that require speed and athleticism aren’t so common in those defensive positions compared to Second Base, Short Stop and Outfield players. When it comes to pitchers, it really depends on their play style that’s why you get a variety of body sizes. Left Fielders and Right Fielders can sometimes also be fat because they don’t run as much as the Center Fielders. But fat outfielders aren’t as common as fat infield corner base players or catchers.
One thing about baseball is that on offense, a single is a single, and a double is a double for all but the absolute fastest players that can stretch a hit every now and again. By and large it’s where the ball is hit that dictates how many bases they can take more than their own speed.
On defense, it’s really only the middle infielders and center fielders that need to cover a lot of ground. The bulk that players put on allows them to hit for power and generally be more valuable as an offensive player than being able to eek out an extra base or make one more defensive play every 5-10 games.
being fat and being athletic/good at sports actually aren’t mutually exclusive. also looking like a bodybuilder is pretty much an aesthetic thing, which baseball players don’t need
Another thing that’s not being pointed out is that the best athletes may choose other sports over baseball.
**In the US Basketball and Football are probably the first choices depending on how tall/heavy an athlete is.** The contracts for players in those sports are quite generous and front loaded for high prospects compared to Baseball where there’s a farm/minor league system and a player might not see a huge contract until their mid/late 20’s or at all if they don’t make it in the Major League.
For example, [Mike Trout](https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/mike-trout-8553/cash-earnings/), widely considered the best MLB player today, made roughly $14M in his first 6 years playing baseball before he was able to negotiate a proper contract.
The #1 overall pick in the same “draft class” as him in the NBA, [Blake Griffin](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/detroit-pistons/blake-griffin-6501/), made $22M in his rookie contract alone (4 years).
The #1 overall pick in the NFL class that year, [Matt Stafford](https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/detroit-lions/matthew-stafford-6078/cash-earnings/), earned an eyewatering $70M in his rookie contract (5 years).
If you were a star level athlete and you were confident you could be drafted high in one of these 3 sports, which would you pick? Probably not baseball, unless you really loved it or that was the only one you were good at.
Granted if you do become one of the best players in the MLB, you can command decade long contracts worth hundreds of millions. But most players don’t ever reach that status and will toil away in the minor leagues or have brief stints in the majors.
Till this day despite being the best player in his sport, Mike Trout has earned less ($110M) than both his NBA and NFL counterparts, Blake Griffin ($189M) and Matt Stafford ($210M), respectively, both of which are “star” level players but nowhere near the dominant player that Trout is in his own sport.
This is just America btw. In Latin America, many kids might choose to pursue soccer instead. Which is again, another sport more American kids are now venturing into seeing the success of players like Christian Pulisic. Reaching dominance in soccer will net you huge contracts and endorsement opportunities as well.
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