Meal plan: Eat to win
Pirates point to areas where they spend plenty, including nutrition
BRADENTON, Fla. — Pirates owner Bob Nutting visited the team during the second week of spring training. His appearance came with a meeting with the media. Nutting spent nearly an hour talking to writers on the record. Those comments were disseminated throughout Western Pennsylvania and beyond.
The tweets came in hot and heavy as Nutting discussed payroll and other questions facing the team. When asked about team payroll being in the bottom five in baseball. Nutting countered with a claim.
“We’ve been in the top five clubs in spending in player development resources for these young players. We’re outspending almost the entire industry in that (area),” Nutting said. “We’re continuing to reinvest in the support and development of the minor league system, whether it’s mental skills, conditioning, nutrition, sleep. We have people all over the place who are incredibly focused and incredibly smart, trying to find ways to optimize every one of those players.
“I’m very proud we’re sort of leading the way in baseball analytics. We were early and continue to reinvent and drive some of those dollars. Those are areas where we can be really competitive, and the dollar-fordollar impact of those investments have and will continue to really pay off for us.”
The Post-Gazette looked at a few of these areas where the Pirates are spending money and one of them is an innovative nutritional program. The Pirates have seven minor league affiliates from rookies in the Dominican Republic to Triple-A in Indianapolis. Previously players would be responsible for their own meals away from the park.
Steven Brault started his Pirates career with the Class A-advanced Bradenton Mauraders, had a stop in Double-A Altoona and was with Triple-A Indianapolis before his call-up to Pittsburgh. He experienced the previous system.
“The meals weren’t healthy at all,” he said. “It’d be something like a meatball sandwich or hot dogs. Then you’re supposed to go out and perform. It wasn’t optimal, to say the least.”
Pirates Director of Sports Nutrition Allison Maurer was hired in April 2017. Maurer, along with team chef Tomas Membreno, came with a program to change how the teams from Pittsburgh to the lowest rungs of the minors eat.
“A lot of them are teenagers when they start with us,” Maurer said. “We want to build good habits early. Teach them how to eat in a way that allows them to perform at their best.”
Maurer has hired a staff of skilled nutritionists for each minor league facility. The nutritionist travels with the team, shops for healthy food, prepares it and makes sure players are educated on their options.
“That would cost a lot of money to implement,” an AL East executive said. “I don’t know of any clubs taking player diet that seriously, especially at the minor league level. For the Pirates to do that for their players says a lot. We might have to look into the program. That is a big deal.”
Nutting and Maurer discussed the importance of doing better by minor league players.
“I think it’s important that we treat them as the professional athletes that they are,” Maurer said. “I think it’s important that we find, whether it’s a living wage, whether it’s nutrition, whether it’s the facilities that are provided to them by their minor league operators, all of those have fallen behind the standards that I think are critical.”
During spring training Maurer and her crew arrive between 5:30 and 6 a.m. They set up the smoothie and omelet stations. Nearly 400 people eat meals and drink balanced smoothies. Big league camp is done around noon and that’s when the rush starts. Maurer and the staff stay until 8 p.m. or later when the minor leaguers eat dinner at Pirate City.
Heather Frost, Geordan Stapleton, Cat Hammer and Courtney Ellison are among the group. They split their time preparing meals and informational handouts for players and staff, and their own learning. Each day they learn a different skill from Membreno.
“We’ve learned knife work and all types of skills,” Hammer said. “We will be able to prepare healthy meals that taste and look good. It’s important that these guys want to eat the food and are educated on it.”
Ke’Bryan Hayes is the son of ex-major-leaguer Charlie Hayes. The meals the younger Hayes ate in Altoona and will eat in Indianapolis will be much better than the ones his father ate when he traversed the minor leagues on his way to the majors.
“It’s big for us,” Hayes said. “I’ve heard all the stories on how bad the spreads were. But now the Pirates are really investing in us eating right. I talk to other guys and we definitely are ahead of the curve.”
Young Pirates players are eating salmon and quinoa instead of burgers and fries. Instead of a Red Bull, players are encouraged to rest and eat lean protein for a boost. The Pirates call it a “food first” approach. Doing this on the big league level is relatively easy. Even Cincinnati has a Whole Foods and farmer’s market to get healthy options.
It becomes harder when the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Pirates’ Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League, plays the Hickory Crawdads in Hickory, N.C.
Stapleton accepts the challenge.
“That’s where you get creative. Look at the schedule in advance and plan from there,” Stapleton said. “Some of the cities are bigger and have good stores. Other places we have to order online in advance. Either way, we will always make sure the players eat well.”
Each nutritionist is responsible for 25 players, several coaches, and support staff. Everyone has different needs and some have allergies. A lot goes into making sure everyone eats a balanced meal and has enough to take home. How does all this happen? Maurer provides a simple answer.
“Money,” Maurer said. “The team has invested a lot of money and resources to this. Each team has a good budget for meals. We need money to make that happen. The organization was willing to allow us to spend more to get better quality food. The quality of stuff we’ve been able to get is way better than it’s been in the past.
“I don’t know another team that has a nutritionist that travels with each of the minor league teams. Most of the time it’s a clubhouse guy getting it, even on the big league level. To have a trained nutritionist is important. We ask these guys to perform so we have to fuel them.”