At his long-awaited physical exam and official weigh-in Friday, Sandoval tipped the scales at 240 pounds, according to Ethan Banning of Triple Threat Performance, which coordinated his offseason conditioning regimen.
Sandoval weighed 278 pounds at the end of last season. He also reduced his body fat measurement from 30 percent to 19 percent, Banning said.
I am thrilled. I was never a Pablo Sandoval naysayer, and now I'm more confident than ever that he'll bounce back in 2011. Yes, the whole "best shape of his life" thing is cliche. But this is different. Sandoval saw a clear decline in his numbers after putting on weight in the 2010 season, and now he'll enter more athletic than ever. He should be able to cover more range, and heck, maybe he'll even hit with more power, beat out a few more singles, etc.
To reiterate -- I'm thrilled.
Also, just for reference, back in December I projected him to hit .310/.375/.510...I'm sticking by it, as optimistic as it sounds.
Now, that is not to say that his disappointing numbers in 2010 were solely the direct result of weight gain...he clearly had other issues, but as Zachary Chiang examined here a while ago, natural regression is in store for him. Pair that with the significant improvement in fitness, and he's in great shape to put up dazzling numbers once again.
