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SUMMARY
THE TIMING AND QUANTITY OF INGESTED FOOD AND FLUIDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR BASEBALL PLAYERS. PLAYERS WHO COME TO PRACTICE AND GAMES PROPERLY HYDRATED AND FUELED HAVE PREPARED THEMSELVES FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE. FURTHERMORE, TO MAINTAIN HYDRATION AND ENERGY LEVELS, PLAYERS MUST CONTINUE TO CONSUME FOOD AND FLUIDS ARER WARM-UP (BATTING PRACTICE) AND COOL DOWNS POSTGAME). EDUCATING ATHLETES ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF FUELING AND HYDRATION PRE-, DURING, AND POST-PLAY AND/OR RESISTANCE TRAINING WILL KEEP THEM IN THE GAME LONGER, STRONGER, AND HEALTHIER.
KEY WORDS:
nutrition; food; fluids; caffeine; muscle cramps
INTRODUCTION
Baseball is a sport of strength, power, and speed, in addition to mental focus. Although it is not an endurance sport in terms of its physical demand, games can last for several hours, especially doubleheaders. As a result, nutrition plays a key role in optimizing performance and energy during a game and throughout the season. Sporte nutrition for baseball encompasses not only what the athlete needs to eat and drink but also the timing and quantity of food and fluids consumed.
This article describes what the baseball player should consume for pre-, during, and post-practice/game nutrition. Also, this article discusses monitoring fluids, effects of caffeine, and offsetting muscle cramps. Finally, suggestions of what to consume for the 3 main meals of the day are addressed.
PRE-PRACTICE/GAME NUTRITION
It takes approximately 1 hour for 30 oz of fluid to leave the stomach and be absorbed by the body (5). So, consuming fluid in advance of exercise optimizes fluid delivery to the exercising muscles. In addition, eating or drinking items that have calories before practice or a game can optimize performance as the body can use this exogenous fuel as an energy source (give up an out) during exercise, therefore sparing muscle glycogen and delaying fatigue (to score a run).
Most players are not comfortable with a lot of food in their stomach before they play, and many pitchers do not want to eat at all. Some are nervous before games and simply do not have an appetite. However, because games last between 2 and 3 hours, they do need to eat something. The liquid foods to be consumed by nervous eaters are suggested in Table i. For those players who are able to eat...