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  • Extinction

    July 25, 2016 By Gabe Kapler 1 Comment Two posts connected by a straight line. Back with you again, my familiar friend. A world away, square blocks, where we originally met. You ruled the land. Reigning over tagged alleys and the Reseda wash. Here in paradise, you’re out of place. An abrasive old man in…

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    Long-Term Success: What You Can Learn from Corey Kluber – Eric Cressey [Guest Post]

    I may be attempting to predict the future, but Eric has one-upped me. The @Indians & @CKluber over King Felix tomorrow?@gabekapler predicts the future in The Kapler Courier! #WhipAround pic.twitter.com/Rv9xiVdgbY — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 30, 2014 He knows I’ve consistently sung the praises of the right arm of Indians pitcher Corey Kluber. I’m…

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  • Developing Calluses

    Developing calluses is a necessary part of the process for building strength as you perform heavy deadlifts, rows and pull-ups. During the early days of my pro baseball career, I went “no BGs” (that is, sans batting gloves). I liked the feel of the wood on my skin, the pine tar smell my hands retained,…

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  • Revisiting Coconut Oil
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    Revisiting Coconut Oil

    This morning, I was speaking with several baseball players about the benefits of adding coconut oil to coffee. I expressed to them that while mixing the two has its virtues, they can each stand alone as powerful contributors to our general health and well being. More specifically, we dove into the many uses of coconut oil. I…

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  • Eating Healthy at the Ballpark – Part 1
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    Eating Healthy at the Ballpark – Part 1

    Packing a soft cooler, filling it with healthy food, snacks and water and bringing it to the ballpark will exponentially improve your overall baseball fan experience. Most folks assume you can’t bring food into stadiums and sports arenas. It’s easy to feel forced into crunching nachos and Crackerjacks. I’ve heard this typical narrative: I thoroughly…

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  • About Gabe

    A 12-year Major League Baseball veteran who appeared in 1,104 career games and was a member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series championship team, Gabe Kapler is a strength training and powerful food enthusiast who took a public stance against performance-enhancing drugs as a player. Kapler has perpetually emphasized the importance of training outdoors and clean eating.…

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  • Contact

    For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact [email protected] For technical issues or inquiries, please contact [email protected] For all other contacts, please use the form below. Due to the volume of emails, personal replies may not be possible. Please note: Kaplifestyle cannot accommodate autograph requests via this form. At this time, we are not accepting…

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  • Home of the Brave?

    The day 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives. Players, staff and fans stood for the moment of silence, grieving the lives lost, and then we (myself included) continued to…

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    Eat Carbs! Particularly This One (with Recipe)

    A friend recently asked me if I have a sweet tooth. The answer is unequivocally yes! What I’ve found, however, is when we change our lifestyle to remove nearly all the added, refined sugar from our diets, real food begins to taste sweet. We can satisfy our desire for decadence in a manner consistent with…

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  • Fighting Shape

    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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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