Sticking to plan in tough times
“I definitely feel strong, especially in more core and hips. That’s where a lot of the focus was on this offseason, is to strengthen those areas.” — Outfield prospect Austin Meadows, who missed time in 2017 with hamstring and oblique injuries
The brief window that opened with the trade of Andrew McCutchen appeared to close, for the time being, with the acquisition of Corey Dickerson.
The outfield thing, Meadows can’t control. He worked to address the injuries. Meadows consulted with the Pirates to find a new trainer near his offseason home in Georgia. They recommended Joel Seedman at Georgia Sports Performance.
“He knows about my history,” Meadows said. “He kind of just took it into his own hands and it’s just more of baseball-related stuff, more of the functional stuff. He kind of just saw what I had before and put me through, not like a program that was kind of basing toward the injuries in the past but more everyday maintenance, functional movements, just to stay healthy.”
The exercises included pull-ups on a rubber band suspended in the air, an inverted row with one foot on a Swiss ball and kettle bell dead lifts. They were done barefoot, and they were done with massive chains around his neck or waist. Meadows and Seedman also focused on little things like Meadows’ posture and the way he sat.
“I definitely feel like the kind of training I did helps me maintain strength during the season,” he said. “I definitely feel strong, especially in my core and hips. That’s where a lot of the focus was on this offseason, is to strengthen those areas.”
Through five spring training games, Meadows is 6 for 10 with two doubles, a triple and a home run. He wasn’t making the team out of spring training anyway — he has yet to play a full season at Class AAA and the Pirates would not want to start his service time clock — but the Dickerson trade clouded Meadows’ immediate path to playing time.
“For me, it’s more just an opportunity for me to compete with him, even while we’re here practicing and doing all that kind of stuff, picking his brain and competing with him every day,” Meadows said. “That’s the way I look at it.”
That approach suggests perspective. Meadows is gaining it. In addition to his faith and his approach to conditioning, he and his longtime girlfriend, Alexis Wilson, got engaged this offseason.
“You start taking priority a little bit more over your life, over your career,” he said. “You kind of put things in order and realize what’s really important and tackle those things. It’s definitely been an eye-opening experience so far.”