The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dream diet: Cubs’ Hammel devours chips to avoid cramps
Potassium, carbs, salt should keep pitcher hydrated.
Jason Hammel says potato chips have helped end chronic cramping issues. Now the Cubs right-hander has enough salty snacks to last the rest of the season.
Hammel was greeted at his Wrigley Field locker recently by a 6-foot high stack of cardboard boxes filled with chips. They were a gift of Pennsylvania-based Utz.
“That’s classic,” a smiling Hammel said. “I should be well hydrated.”
Hammel left his July 7 start against Atlanta in the sixth inning when his right thumb cramped up on a humid day. Hammel has had cramping issues in the past, and his doctor told him potato chips would help.
“I looked at him like he had 10 eyes,” Hammel said, before it started to make sense.
“Potatoes are obviously a good source of potassium,” Hammel said. “Carbs, you’re burning off energy there. And salt, obviously. It’s not the breakfast or type of meal of champions, but there are quirky things for everybody.” A new diet was born. “What male doesn’t look for a chance to eat more potato chips?” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
A sheepish Hammel, who is 8-5 with a 3.34 ERA, leaned on the five boxes of chips at his locker and insisted he wouldn’t stray from an offseason conditioning program that’s left him leaner and stronger in 2016.
“The misconception is all I do is eat chips,” he said.
Jeff Gordon of STLtoday. com added, “When a team can address an injury concern through snacking, you know it’s their year.”
Moment to remember
Brewers PH Andy Wilkins’ wife and young son were in the stands to share in the celebration of his home run last week. “As soon as I hit it, I looked up and saw (my wife), so it was awesome,” said Wilkins.
Just call me Shea
Mets 3B David Wright’s wife Molly gave birth last week to a girl, Olivia Shea Wright, who weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. The middle name matches that of the Mets’ former ballpark, Shea Stadium. In August 2004, Atlanta’s Chipper Jones named his newborn son Shea Logan Jones after the ballpark, where Jones hit his first big league home run. Wright is out for the year following surgery June 16 to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
Emulating Junior
If Colorado RF Carlos Gonzalez’s swing looks familiar, it’s because he modeled it after Ken Griffey Jr. Even Gonzalez’s bat drop after a homer is borrowed from Griffey.
“He meant a lot for the game and part of the reason I swing the way I swing is because of him,” said Gonzalez, who lives in Windermere, Fla., during the off- season and frequently runs into Griffey. “I’ve got to thank him.”
Trainer’s room
■ Brewers :OF Domingo Santana (right elbow) has been shut down from a rehab assignment at Single-A Wisconsin. “It’s a big setback. I don’t have a timetable,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ll have to get another doctor’s opinion and see if that sheds any light on anything.”
■ Nationals: The team said RHP Aaron Barrett, who underwent Tommy John surgery in September, suffered a right elbow fracture and had surgery last week.