One of the most amusing parts of the start of every sports season is hearing how this athlete or that athlete is in "the best shape of his/her life" or some variation on the theme. It very well may be true, but it also gets kind of ridiculous year after year.
Twins first baseman Joe Mauer is a local athlete whose health is CONSTANTLY being monitored. I'm not here to pick on Mauer because health is an important thing and in many cases he's probably just responding to questions about it, nor am I poking fun at writers who are pursuing relevant stories.
But a trip back down memory lane is enlightening nonetheless. Let's start a couple days ago, when Charley Walters on the St. Paul side had this nugget (h/t Parker Hageman for the link):
Jan. 23, 2016: After spending the offseason working regularly with St. Paul strength-flexibility guru Roger Erickson, Mauer is much stronger than in past seasons.
That's all well and good, but there was this published in the Star Tribune a year ago in a story by La Velle E. Neal III:
Feb. 28, 2015: "It's kind of like, 'Slow down, take it easy, and just ease into it,'" Mauer said. "But I am excited. I feel really good, and I'm trying to slow myself down and not try to do everything right away." Hold the presses. Mauer is excited. It's a result largely of the offseason work Mauer put in with St. Paul stretching guru Roger Erickson.
Mauer responded in 2015 with a healthy season but one in which he posted the lowest OPS of his career (.718). But how did he feel before the 2014 season? Here's from the end of spring training that year, again from our guy La Velle.
March 30, 2014: Mauer spent spring training enjoying life as a first baseman. He usually reports to camp weighing around 235 pounds, then loses 7 to 8 pounds before Opening Day. He has fought through the years to keep his playing weight around 227. He reported this year at 228, no longer needing to build up a base weight that's usually knocked down by catching in camp.
