Chris Sale Has Quit Fast Food During Recovery From Tommy John Surgery
BOSTON (CBS) -- Chris Sale has surely been called many things in his life, but a bad eater probably isn't one of them.
Known for his tall, lanky frame, one would never assume that the left-hander was scarfing down fast food with reckless abandon any chance he got. But after his rehab outing in Portland on Tuesday night, Sale revealed that he wasn't exactly Mr. Healthy throughout his career.
After Red Sox manager Alex Cora said last week that Sale made changes to his diet and is now "stronger," the veteran pitcher detailed some of those life decisions.
"I made a lot of changes, just with junk food and processed stuff and gluten," Sale said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. "The list goes on and on. Looking back, I didn't really take really good care of myself in that aspect of my life -- how I was fueling my body and the stuff I was eating. You can ask my teammates. I would show up on game day with a bag of McDonald's or Taco Bell and that was my pregame meal to go pitch. That, mixed with a little bit better sleeping patterns and more hydration, I think has helped me out a lot."
While nobody would ever look at Sale and assume that he's been crushing Cheesy Gordita Crunches and McDoubles on a regular basis, Sale apparently was. And now that he's eliminated such food -- and alcohol -- from his diet, he's hoping to be stronger, lighter, and healthier.
The early results are good. Sale pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in Double-A on Tuesday, striking out six batters and walking just one while not allowing a single hit. He's likely one or two more rehab starts away from joining the rotation of the first-place Boston Red Sox. When he does make that walk into Fenway Park, he'll be carrying one fewer bag than he used to.