Brian Downing Schwarber

Video of a slimmed-down Kyle Schwarber is making the rounds on local sportscasts and the Cubs’ website.  Now, if only someone would ask what exactly a thinner, stronger Schwarber means.

Well, with luck, he won’t eat himself out of the league the way reliever Jonathan Broxton seems to.  A fit Schwarber should also translate into a player who can avoid repeated stints on the disabled list; no quad or hamstring problems for the new Adonis, maybe.  But other than that, what?

How will lifting weights and eating right help Schwarber in left field?  Will it mean having softer hands and getting a better break on balls?  Will Schwarber now be able to block pitches in the dirt when he catches?  Will his throwing arm be stronger or more accurate?  I doubt it, but we’ll see.

To me, the best comparison would be to Brian Downing, another of those star-crossed young White Sox players—star-crossed, that is, until they were traded, like Bucky Dent and Goose Gossage and Terry Forster—of the 1970s.  Downing came up in 1973, a catcher/third baseman/outfielder.  He played five years with the Sox before being traded to the Angels.  With the Sox, Downing was an energetic but not necessarily focused player.  Who knew he’d play another fifteen seasons, thirteen with the Angels and two with the Rangers, or that he’d finish with 2,099 hits?

Early on during his Angels’ tenure, Downing took to weight lifting, thus earning the nickname of The Incredible Hulk; an ankle injury forced an eventual shift to the outfield.  You would never consider Downing a great fielder, behind the plate or in left; it’s doubtful the weight training had any effect there.  But hitting, who knows?  He sure hit better with the Angels than he ever did with the Sox.  You could even argue that the weights’ regimen allowed Downing to play until days before his 42^nd birthday.

So, the “new” Kyle Schwarber may end up being a better hitter.  Just don’t expect a leaner frame to lead to any Gold Gloves.