The Most Jacked Baseball Players in MLB History
It isn’t fair to suggest that baseball players in previous generations weren’t committed to physical fitness. However, adding strength and conditioning coaches led MLB players to better understand eating and living healthily.
Few teams were as intimidating when walking into the ballpark as the Oakland A’s of the late 1980s, with Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Dave Stewart. Ironically, former college football star Kirk Gibson helped the Los Angeles Dodgers upset the favored A’s in the World Series.
Let’s look at the impact of the most jacked baseball players of all time.
Introduction to Muscular Baseball Players
Why Muscular Physiques Matter in Baseball Performance
We live in an era when home runs are a big deal. Some players don’t have to get all of a pitch to send it over the wall. Muscle-bound players can pile up the extra-base hits in a rapid fashion.
Some players have their own personal trainers. Combine that with the advice from MLB strength and conditioning coaches, and today’s MLB players have an advantage over those who came before them to become among the most jacked baseball players.
Seeing what Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the first player with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season, have accomplished should motivate the next generation of baseball stars.
Top Most Muscular Baseball Players
The Most Ripped MLB Players: Power and Performance
One look at Aaron Judge, the 6-foot-7, 280-pound record-breaking outfielder for the New York Yankees, can strike fear into pitchers. Still in his early 30s, Judge already has more than 300 home runs. He is among the most muscular baseball players.
He is cut from a similar cloth as Dave Winfield, a former Yankees outfielder, or former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Dave Parker, who was listed at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds. As one of the most ripped baseball players, Judge looks like he could thrive in the NBA and the NFL with very little body fat on his frame.
It is no wonder he set the American League record with 62 home runs during the 2022 season and won the American League Most Valuable Player award twice in three seasons.
Baseball Player Physique and Its Influence on the Game
How Strength and Conditioning Have Evolved in Baseball
MLB players could hire trainers to get them in peak physical condition as their salaries have grown. That wasn’t always a luxury of players when Babe Ruth was the face of professional baseball.
Players are getting bigger, faster, and stronger. Not only the batters but also the pitchers believe it is important to make their bodies as beautiful as possible, which has resulted in a change in baseball players’ physiques.
Giancarlo Stanton of the New York Yankees teamed with Judge and Anthony Rizzo to give the Yankees three of the fittest players in the majors to use in the middle of the lineup.
The Impact of Muscular Players on Baseball History
Notable Moments and Achievements of Ripped MLB Players
If not for the stigma of being a steroid user, Barry Bonds might go down as the best player in baseball history. Just look at the number of intentional walks he received to get an idea of the respect he drew from opposing pitchers.
McGwire and Canseco helped the A’s reach three consecutive World Series from 1988 to 1990, making plenty of baseball news as the “Bash Brothers.”
Frank Thomas, another former college football player, was among the best hitters of his generation with the classic “Big Hurt” nickname.
Training and Diet of the Most Jacked Baseball Players
Football players like Gibson and Bo Jackson had an advantage over those who just focused on baseball. There might not be a better all-around athlete than Jackson. He played with the Kansas City Royals and the NFL’s Los Angeles Raiders simultaneously. One has to wonder if he would have made the Hall of Fame in both sports.
There might not have been a more intimidating pitcher than Bob Gibson. He is still considered to be among the most famous baseball players.
He was listed at 6 feet 1 inches and just shy of 190 pounds. He looked much more imposing to opposing batters, and his willingness to brush back batters only added to his legend.
Frank Howard, a power hitter in the 1960s and early 1970s, is another player who would have fit in during the current era.
Workouts and Nutrition for Building a Baseball Player Physique
The addition of strength and conditioning programs has allowed players to bulk up.
It doesn’t come without controversy. The battle between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa for the home run single-season record and Barry Bonds’s accomplishments were tainted by accusations of steroid use. It was a similar deal with pitcher Roger Clemens, outfielder Rafael Palmeiro, and infielder Alex Rodriguez, even if they were all jacked baseball players.
These days, a bulked-up player won’t draw the same reaction as those who changed their bodies during the steroid era.
Conclusion: The Legacy of Muscular Baseball Players
There is still room in the game for normal-sized players. That is one of the aspects of the sport that made it the national pastime. Not every kid can play in the NFL or the NBA. However, plenty of stories about 5-foot-11, 175-pound baseball players who rose to stardom.
With the money that the top sluggers get these days, there is plenty of incentive to hit the gym when the MLB season is over.
More baseball players will be coming into the majors who look like they just walked off the field at an NFL training camp.
