David Ortiz backs Red Sox, says Hanley Ramirez should lose weight
If anyone knows how important weight loss can be, it’s David Ortiz.
The Boston Red Sox designated hitter has thrived through age 39 largely because he shed the pounds needed to stay healthy and on the field. So when it came to the Red Sox’s similar request of friend and teammate Hanley Ramirez, the team had Ortiz’s full support.
“Hey look, they know,” Ortiz told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato on Thursday. “They can see further than we do as a player. Sometimes we think they’re asking for too much, but at the end of the day they know what they ask for.
“When it comes down to losing weight there’s nothing wrong about that. I can tell you from my own experience, once I decided to take care of myself better and do things better, losing weight and other stuff, my career got longer. Hanley is still young. That’s some good advice. That’s the only way I can explain it. If you listen to what they have to say right now, his career is going to do nothing but get better because he’s an amazing player, an unbelievable athlete and you have to be healthy to be a productive player.”
Ramirez, 31, bulked up for the first time in his career as he transitioned to playing a corner outfield position for Boston. But as Mastrodonato points out, Ramirez reportedly gained nearly 25 pounds over the course of the season — possibly due to his extended time (57 games) on the bench with injuries.
While Ramirez’s newfound muscle glory was fun to awe at early in the season — his jersey could hardly contain his biceps in April, when he slugged 10 home runs — the added weight detracted from his natural athleticism and, potentially, accelerated his trips to the DL.
It’s sound advice from Ortiz, who knows a thing or two about proving his detractors wrong.
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