# Are pro baseball players fatter than they used to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 19, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253 "2010-09-19T03:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/1 "2010-09-19T03:29:28Z")
It sure seems like it to me. The power hitters don’t look strong anymore, just fat. Ryan Howard. Manny Shitmirez etc… Am I imagining this? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/2 "2010-09-19T04:35:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Am I imagining this? Yes. First off, Manny’s old. He’s gonna get fat. Second, Babe Ruth was a friggin’ whale. Third, you’re working on selective memory. For every Prince Fielder you mention, I can bring up a Cecil Fielder (okay, bad example). For every Ryan Howard, I can bring up a Steve Balboni. Or Carmelo Martinez. Or Dee Brown. (Okay - I bring up a lot of ex-Royals…) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/3 "2010-09-19T06:16:26Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > It sure seems like it to me. The power hitters don’t look strong anymore, just fat. Ryan Howard. Manny Shitmirez etc… > > Am I imagining this? Babe Ruth. Willie Stargell. There were actually players called Jumbo Brown and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/4 "2010-09-19T19:42:06Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Babe Ruth was a friggin’ whale. [His preferred workout was lifting beer & hot dogs.](http://forum.sportsmogul.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=22198&stc=1&d=1233079135) ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/5 "2010-09-19T20:33:06Z")
A lot of power hitters look like softball players, big overly muscled goons. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/6 "2010-09-19T22:18:28Z")
There were a lot more fat players when I was a kid. Back in the Seventies, you saw all kinds of body types on an MLB team, from muscular to scrawny to obese. The players are, on the whole, a LOT more fit, muscular and athletic-looking than they were a few decades ago… though baseball is STILL a sport in which a guy with a pot belly can succeed if he can swing the bat or get batters out. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/7 "2010-09-19T23:25:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > … though baseball is STILL a sport in which a guy with a pot belly can succeed if he can swing the bat or get batters out. A characteristic it shares with curling. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/8 "2010-09-20T01:49:59Z")
Maybe it’s just the baggy sloppy way these guys wear their uniform nowadays. It’s on optical illusion. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/9 "2010-09-20T02:02:16Z")
“I’m not an athlete. I’m a professional baseball player.” - John Kruk ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/10 "2010-09-20T02:44:12Z")
> [@](#): > > It sure seems like it to me. The power hitters don’t look strong anymore, just fat. Ryan Howard. Manny Shitmirez etc… > > Am I imagining this How old are you? If you grew up in the steroid era, you may not be imagining anything. The players who took steroids were much more buff. If you discount the steroid era, players nowadays are not any more or less fat than they always were. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-pro-baseball-players-fatter-than-they-used-to-be/554253/11 "2010-09-20T17:35:51Z")
Plus, Ryan Howard is not fat anymore.