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    Afternoon Naps

    Early last year, I mused on the benefit of a morning nap. While that still holds true, napping in the afternoon may be the difference between winning a race and coming in second. For many people, as midafternoon sets in, so does the drowsiness. We push through, chasing more productivity goals at the workplace, but…

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    Off The Beaten Path to Reliever Performance

    Imagine an Olympic javelin thrower preparing to go set a world record for throwing the javelin as far as they can. Now imagine it’s their job to do that 4 times a week. Can you imagine going out, 6+ hours before your world record attempt, and training by making the same move with intent and…

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  • Open Thread

    We didn’t hit our Open Thread yesterday, so let’s do it today instead. Chester: What is your opinion of kids learning how to fight, not with a goal of fighting, but with a goal of Knowing How To Fight? Knowing how to fight is in my opinion a preventative to actually getting into fights. I’m…

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    Off The Beaten Path to Reliever Performance

    Imagine an Olympic javelin thrower preparing to go set a world record for throwing the javelin as far as they can. Now imagine it’s their job to do that 4 times a week. Can you imagine going out, 6+ hours before your world record attempt, and training by making the same move with intent and…

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  • Off the Beaten Path: Reimagining Teammate Behavior

    Change can be uncomfortable. Sometimes the fear of change keeps us locked into habits and ways of thinking that are no longer serving us. Thriving requires pushing through that discomfort. Yesterday, I made the case for why we should reimagine the schedule for relievers to reduce volume and improve performance and health. I focused on…

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  • Optimizing Sleep

    It’s pretty special to come in here tomorrow and have a chance to do that. I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights for a lot of reasons, but tonight I look forward to losing that sleep. It’s been a long hard grind… Buck Showalter just managed his team to a division clinching win. No one…

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  • Mental Health and Performance

    I wasn’t a great baseball player. But in 2008 with the Brewers and 2009 with the Rays, I had my niche. I was an objectively good offensive player versus left handed pitching. I put up a 161 wRC+ versus L in 08. In 09, it was 144 wRC+ with more walks than strikeouts. In 2010,…

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    Leadership

    Change can be uncomfortable. Sometimes the fear of change keeps us locked into habits and ways of thinking that are no longer serving us. Thriving requires pushing through that discomfort. Yesterday, I made the case for why we should reimagine the schedule for relievers to reduce volume and improve performance and health. I focused on…

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  • Off the Beaten Path: Reimagining Teammate Behavior

    Change can be uncomfortable. Sometimes the fear of change keeps us locked into habits and ways of thinking that are no longer serving us. Thriving requires pushing through that discomfort. Yesterday, I made the case for why we should reimagine the schedule for relievers to reduce volume and improve performance and health. I focused on…

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  • Sports Are Everyone

    Pursuing diversity is a critical initiative, and often it’s one that requires uncomfortable effort. I have spent most of my adult life in professional baseball clubhouses. I would look around and generally feel like it was a diverse environment. I had teammates that looked very different than I am, that spoke different languages, came from…

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I aim to plan and consciously choose all of my indulgences. I have the knowledge and willpower to do so, but occasionally, I will have a substantial misfire.

I was in Boston, my home away from home, for the 2004 World Series reunion. I splurged nutritionally as I had intended, but I didn’t map out my large nutritional stumble while watching the game.

I had it all pre-navigated. My two men (12 and 14) and I love to experience travel through food. We think it’s the most efficient and interesting way to explore the culture of a city. We discussed the trip ahead of time and decided on three restaurants where we would fully indulge and eat like kings. We’d start with the team dinner at a fine steak and seafood house, follow it up with breakfast the next morning at a bakery, and finish it out with lunch at a tapas joint in the South End.

The first night the three of us shared bone in filets, swordfish steaks, oysters, giant shrimp, crab cakes, lamb chops, chocolate cake, apple crisps and cold vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed a few glasses of whiskey, neat, and my boys drank Sprite. We left the restaurant 1 for 1. Remember, this indulgence was planned.

The next morning, we went to a bakery suggested by a Boston-based chef friend. The boys picked up scones and French toast; I scored big with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll with spinach and tomato. The bite came complete with a Dijon mustard finish that struck a chord with me, managing to last all day. 2 at bats, 2 knocks.

After mobbing around on the T train all morning, making our way to Harvard and back to Downtown Crossing, we landed at our destination for lunch, Toro. Theo Epstein made the recommendation after I mentioned that my boys and I were on a food adventure. This is the guy who went out to get the “washed up” 2002 version of David Ortiz, so he’s proven his scouting mettle. If he thinks it’s a worthwhile trip, I’ll take his advice.

Back to food.

Rather than turn this post into a restaurant review, I’ll keep it simple. I had an out of body experience. Every small plate that arrived was visually captivating and stunning on the palate. We sprinted the gamut. From spicy curry beef empanadas to cauliflower with golden raisins and pine nuts to the pièce de résistance, roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This dish, holy fuck. Our waiter described it exquisitely as “like rich, hot, beef flavored butter.” I was now 3 for 3 and ready for my final at bat.

A theme throughout this entire trip was advance planning. My first mistake was not preparing for this final meal. I figured my boys and I would just eat at the ballpark and didn’t put much thought into it. I knew that the options would be plentiful and come in large quantities. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I quickly got off course.

I was running around at Fenway from this place to that, answering questions and meeting folks. My boys were on their own and already up in the suite by the time I arrived around the start of the first inning. They had eaten pizza, snacks and fruit, totally what I expected for them. I walked in starving, my second mistake.  I reached for a plate and piled on decent looking veggies, a huge mound of guacamole, and the only available protein, stale fried chicken strips. I could have reached into my bag and opened a can of wild caught salmon. I didn’t. My defenses were down. I hadn’t snacked. I ingested that garbage and suffered strike one.

You know my stance on processed foods. Those frozen chunks of flour covered meat product provide little nutritional value. I had already experienced a whirlwind day filled with emotion and exertion, and the pizza under the heat lamp began to look lovely.

I advocate indulgence, but I advocate planned, quality indulgence. This was neither. I scarfed down a piece and the drugs hit my bloodstream. I couldn’t chew fast enough. Strike two.

The final pitch of the at bat came in and I chased it. I scarfed down a few more slices, knowing even as I did so that it wasn’t my finest hour.

3 for 4. In baseball that’s a hell of a day. Nutritionally, I expect 4 for 4s from myself almost always. I’m in control, so the high bar is appropriately set. Rather than dwell on it, I’ll do what Manny tells us to do after a rough at bat. “Turn the page, papi.”

I write this from the plane the following morning. I’ve turned the page. Today, I’ve ingested steel cut oats, fresh organic blueberries, a pile of kale, a chunk of a ham steak, a few fresh scrambled eggs and organic black coffee.

In my bag, I have a large salad with tons of fresh veggies, almonds, chicken, organic Hannah yams. I also still have that wild salmon I passed over for pizza in a box.

I’m back on track. I remember last night’s at bat and will make the adjustment without carrying the emotion of yesterday over into today’s game.

I hope you’ll share your stories of strikeouts or home runs in the comments section below.

Kap