Tater Talk: 2041.06 – Germán, Díaz Complete "Holistic" Training in Mexico

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Tater Talk: 2041.06 – Germán, Díaz Complete "Holistic" Training in Mexico

Post by jleddy » Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:20 pm

Image The following report is from Will Bigby, lead baseball correspondent for Treasure Valley Sports.

* * * * * * *
The sun has barely peaked above the horizon and already about a dozen professional baseball players, many in team-issued hoodies that cover their sleepy faces, are walking silently down the main corridor of the Sonoran Desert Baseball Academy. They pass the candlelit office of the facility's strength and conditioning coordinator. They pass the dining hall, where a handful of players are enjoying the day's breakfast special: organic oatmeal and kale hash browns. They pass the community library — take a book, leave a book — with titles such as “There Is No "I" In Landis” and “Tuesdays with Yogi” sitting alongside biographies of Mexican baseball heroes Gabriel Campos, Porky Altavista and Ricardo Guzmán.

Finally, they arrive at a small, darkened meeting room filled with chairs that many of the players ignored, choosing instead to sit on the floor, backs to the wall. Before they would swing a bat or throw a pitch later that day, they would sit here in silence for half an hour. They would meditate.

“Cierra los ojos,” a man’s recorded voice, soft and soothing, instructs the players to close their eyes. More instructions in Spanish are played: “Bring your attention to how you feel. Embrace whatever those feelings are. Feel yourself being here, now.”

Welcome to the new-age baseball training facility in Hermosillo, Mexico. Where once teams sought advantages from the bodies of players through strength training and nutrition, and most recently through the introduction of advanced analytics, now the focus has shifted to the soul.

“There’s always a next big thing,” says owner Juan Carlos Valverde. “Right now the next big thing is finding advantage in creativity and human capital. Not only do we feel it’s a competitive advantage, but we think it’s the right thing to do.”

Two attendees over the last two weeks are Pancho Germán and Carlos Díaz, both members of the Brewster's Boise Spuds organization. Germán, a veteran of four BBA seasons, is the de facto ace of the ball club while Díaz, 21, is a bright prospect expected to make his Brewster debut in the coming year. Both players were born in Mexico and decided to make their off-season training a sort of homecoming.

"Last year was tough for me, tough for the whole team," said Germán, 24. "I feel my body is at peak condition but my head, my mind...it's not so good." Germán had a breakout season in 2039, voted to the Frick League All-Star team en route to a 17-8 record and 3.97 ERA. However his performance regressed last season after he was named the team's #1 starter heading into spring. Germán struggled to a 5.20 ERA and a 14-16 record.

"I came here to work on my focus. I've been doing the meditation and doing the yoga. I feel fantastic," Germán said beaming. Later in the day, Germán would complete a life-size maze, blindfolded, in a personal best time of 11 minutes and 37 seconds, falling just eight seconds short of the facility record. "Some of this has taken time to get used to," German said, taking off the blindfold. "We are being pushed out of our comfort zone at times but we must open our minds and trust ourselves that we can do it. And that will carry over onto the mound."

The holistic training facility offers traditional baseball workouts, however in addition to meditation sessions and hot yoga classes, attendees can complete interpersonal one-on-one meetings with counselors, have their aura cleansed, and spend hour-long sessions inside sweat lodges located in the nearby desert. New to the facility's program, which opened in 2035, was a "sleep competition," in which Diáz won. Using wearable monitors and measuring data points like motion, resting heart rate, and REM, participants were challenged to get the most soundest sleep each night.

"I know I am young," Diáz said through an interpreter, "but I need to act like a veteran player when I arrive in Boise. Spending time with Pancho, who I look up to as a mentor, has been so valuable in my work ethic this winter."


Image Participants at the Sonoran Desert Baseball Academy are often encouraged to read books
on metaphysics and philosophy between weight training sets.
"My $#!? doesn't work in the playoffs." - Billy Beane Joe Lederer

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Re: Tater Talk: 2041.06 – Germán, Díaz Complete "Holistic" Training in Mexico

Post by shoeless.db » Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:57 pm

What a waste. All this training can be accomplished in one appointment with Dr. Kocherschmeltz.
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Re: Tater Talk: 2041.06 – Germán, Díaz Complete "Holistic" Training in Mexico

Post by jleddy » Thu Dec 19, 2019 9:10 pm

shoeless.db wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:57 pm
What a waste. All this training can be accomplished in one appointment with Dr. Kocherschmeltz.
We would never subject our players to such barbaric practices.

(Plus the green-eyed lady never returned our calls.)
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Re: Tater Talk: 2041.06 – Germán, Díaz Complete "Holistic" Training in Mexico

Post by HoosierVic » Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:12 pm

As Schopenhauer once said: just throw ‘em the high heat, baby.

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Re: Tater Talk: 2041.06 – Germán, Díaz Complete "Holistic" Training in Mexico

Post by jleddy » Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:24 pm

HoosierVic wrote:
Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:12 pm
As Schopenhauer once said: just throw ‘em the high heat, baby.
Deep cut right there. I'm partial to "You Kant hit what you Kant see."
"My $#!? doesn't work in the playoffs." - Billy Beane Joe Lederer

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