Rangers’ Elvis Andrus Losing Weight This Off-Season
By Hayden Kane
Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers has approached the off-season with a plan to aggressively shed some pounds in preparation for the 2015 MLB season.
We have an early leader for the first guy to say he is in the “best shape of his life” come 2015 Spring Training.
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Texas Rangers’ shortstop Elvis Andrus embarked on the 2014 off-season with the plan to lose weight. He plans to lose a lot of weight, in fact: 20 pounds by the start of next season.
It is the middle of October, and Andrus has already lost 10 of those pounds.
BTW, Elvis Andrus was at presser. Looked slim. Told @gfraley he's already lost 10 pounds and has 10 to go. Fraley will have more later on.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) October 17, 2014
As things stand now, Andrus is listed as 6’0″ and 200 pounds. The beginning of his career was built largely on his speed: he stole over 30 bases his first three seasons in the big leagues. From there his stolen bases numbers have fluctuated from 21 stolen bases in 2012 to 42 stolen bases in 2013 and back down to 27 stolen bases last season.
Speed on the bases might be a factor in this plan for Andrus, but it might just be general performance as well. Andrus’s numbers were down across the board last season. In 157 games, the Rangers’ shortstop batted .263/.314/.333 with two home runs and 41 RBI.
Oftentimes, a player will cite fatigue over the course of a long season as part of the reason that they struggled. It might be that Andrus believes he will hold up better physically, especially given the rigors of the shortstop position, if he sheds this weight.
Thankfully Andrus is so kind as to offer these updates. In the meantime, we should all start office pools for which date next spring he states that he is in the best shape of his life.
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