As with Prince Fielder, I’m inclined to wait for something more than mere weight loss to declare a Best Shape of His Life. It requires the weight loss along with some declaration -- implied or explicit -- that superior performance is soon to follow. Or a suggestion that the shape is unprecedented or something. Sure, if it’s dramatic weight loss -- as we’re seeing with Pablo Sandoval -- I’m inclined to slap a BSOHL on him. But otherwise a fat guy losing a little weight is not, in and of itself, BSOHL material.
But we should at least pay attention. As we are with Joba Chamberlain. Who, in addition to now being able to sport a beard, has lost some poundage. From the Detroit News:Joba Chamberlain has lost weight (15 pounds) to get in better shape, and seems to have kind of personality fans are going to like.
By the way, to lose the weight, the right-handed reliever become a fish eater after having fish “maybe three times in my life” before his new nutrition program began.
“I’m from Nebraska,” he said. “We don’t have fish in Nebraska.”
Or maybe he just hasn’t looked very hard. And how he avoided good seafood while living in New York and taking multiple road trips to Boston, Baltimore and Tampa each year is beyond me. But let’s not scrutinize this any more than we need to.