Pablo Sandoval has never been known to have a lean physique. The San Francisco Giants infielder rose to fame with the nickname “Panda” and records 5 feet 10 pounds, 268 pounds on his official MLB page.
But the scrutiny reached another level when a recent photo of Sandoval landing on third base began circulating online.
Unsurprisingly, the internet was his usual way of reacting to that photo of Sandoval that seemed to carry extra weight upon returning from the closure of the coronavirus and only a few weeks before the revived MLB season is slated to begin. Among the usual jokes and evil spikes was the question of whether the Giants should be concerned / frustrated with their veteran infielder.
According to Giants manager Gabe Kapler, the answer is basically only if that weight gets in the way of your work.
From Maria Guardado of MLB.com:
“I think what we are always looking for is: ‘Can Pablo do the necessary things to make him a good baseball player?'” Kapler said Sunday. “I think it is understandable that in today’s world we focus on weight. I get it. In this particular case, what we’ve all noticed about Pablo is that the ball is bouncing off his bat and his pitches have a good carry. Obviously, we have had doubts about whether he would be ready [after Tommy John surgery] and at what point would he be ready to play third base and first base. He has shown that he is healthy. That is the most important “.
Kapler has a point there. First and third base have much more to do with reaction time than range on the field, and no one expects Sandoval to accumulate stolen bases or go to third in one.
Still, this is not the first time that Sandoval’s weight fluctuations have been a topic of discussion. His nefarious tenure with the Boston Red Sox raised frequent concerns about his weight. His great year in 2011 was preceded by a remarkable weight loss. Some of his current Giants teammates encouraged him to lose weight in the past. And the pandemic wreaked havoc on many athletes’ ability to properly train and work with their equipment.
Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, who tweeted Sandoval’s photo, said in a Twitter thread that he regretted having posted the photo on a personal level due to the scrutiny Sandoval has long faced, but felt it was his journalistic duty as one of the Few reporters on the scene in Oracle Park whose job it was to objectively cover the Giants.
Kapler expressed sympathy for what Sandoval is dealing with, from the Associated Press:
‘Already in this short period of time it has proved it. I have a lot of empathy for Pablo and what it should be like to deal with this type of scrutiny, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. ”
The 33-year-old Sandoval is in the Giants’ camp as an unlisted guest after hitting .268 / .313 / .507 in 108 games last season. If weight really is an issue, Sandoval is the only one who will really pay for it.
For now, the Giants apparently plan as if to stay. And yes, possibly playing some DH:
“Look, he is not going to fight us,” said Kapler. “The expectation with Pablo Sandoval is for him to hit. He drives the baseball. He is a good DH candidate for us. He has good soft hands, and all of those things are present in the camp. Those are the things that we are going to focus on. ”
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