Baseball season takes place during the hottest months of the year, and, unlike most other sports, is played almost daily. Baseball is also one of very few team sports played with a clock --- games are played until there is a winner. Thus, despite the sometimes-extended periods of inactivity during each contest, games can be long and grueling. Players must follow a strong meal plan must to keep their bodies well-prepared for rigors of a baseball season.
In-Game Function
Your diet fuels your body whenever you exercise, and since baseball games can run three hours or longer, you need to fill up your tank, because there aren't any pit stops along the way. When your body shifts into high-energy mode, and your heart rate escalates up above 80 percent of its maximum, the majority of your energy comes from carbohydrates. In fact, more than 85 percent of the calories you burn in this stage are carbs, making carbohydrate intake a focal point before games.
Features
Pre-game meals are carbohydrate-driven, and typically consist of foods like oatmeal, protein bars, bananas and toast with peanut butter. Consume large quantities of water or electrolyte-heavy drinks before and during every game to keep your body hydrated. Other meals revolve around the remaining five major food groups --- dairy, fruit, vegetables, meat and fats. A well-rounded meal plan is essential for even a sedentary person's body to function efficiently --- and athletes burn a much higher number of calories in comparison.
Misconceptions
It's true that many professional players now more closely resemble muscle-bound wrestlers than traditionally more svelte baseball stars. Though one might think that bulging biceps and tree-trunk thighs are required for baseball success, this is entirely untrue; indeed, until the 1990s, many believed that lifting weights would only increase your chances of getting injured. Studies have shown that bat speed and pelvic rotation, for example, have a lot more direct correlation to performance on the field than massive muscles. A 2003 study at Michigan's Kettering University showed that the faster a bat is traveling when it makes contact with a ball, the farther the ball is going to travel; research published in 2001 in the "Journal of Applied Biomechanics" found that pelvic rotation and flexibility had a major influence on how much velocity a pitcher can put on a throw.
Considerations
The timing of your meals, whether they are before or after games, is crucial to keeping your body fueled and your metabolism going at a steady rate. According to the Mayo Clinic, large meals take at least three hours to leave the stomach, which means if it's been just one to two hours since your last large meal, you need to wait a bit before eating again. Smaller meals need at least two hours to leave the stomach.
Benefits and Drawbacks
An average sedentary person requires only 2,200 calories per day to maintain a healthy energy level, according to the latest United States Department of Agriculture guidelines --- which means there is little room for splurging or eating mid-size to large meals throughout the day. Athletes, on the other hand, require upward of 3,200 calories, which means they can eat in larger quantities, and more often. Because baseball players exercise vigorously on a daily basis, and burn a high number of calories, you will be hungry often. The tradeoff is that you may not necessarily feel as though you are eating for pleasure. Depending on your level of physical exertion, you may even begin to feel light-headed and get hunger pangs just hours after your previous meal.
References
- Kettering University: Bat Weight, Swing Speed and Ball Velocity
- "Journal of Applied Biomechanics"; Relationship of Pelvis and Upper Torso Kinematics to Pitched Baseball Velocity; David F. Stodden et al.; May 2001
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Estimated Calorie Requirements
- Mayo Clinic: Eating and Exercise: Time it Right to Maximize Your Workout
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