Posted by: Tarheel08 () on Fri Jan 26 06:16:00 2007

> It goes without saying that any top quality athlete should be in shape. And that combines cardio as well as weights. Over time so many players realize too late that they should have taken better care of themselves.

Its true that a certain amount of cardiovascular endurance would benefit an athelete in that 1) it would help them stay fresh in the late innings 2) it would help them stay fresh late in the season and 3) it might help them avoid injuries. But as for strength/power, running for endurance does nothing for you. Strength comes from the intensity of a workout, not the volume. Baseball is an anaerobic game that requires mostly short bursts of all-out activity, not sustained submaximal effort (most runs in game situations are less than 5 seconds in duration). As a rule, if you can run a mile in 7 minutes your aerobic fitness should be sufficient for baseball. The player would benefit more from a weightlifting routine that focuses on strength and power instead of a program that emphasizes endurance.