SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rockies catcher Tony Wolters won’t go so far as to call himself a yogi, but he and some teammates are certainly embracing the yogi lifestyle.
For Wolters, that means incorporating meditation, extended stretching and deep breathing to keep his body and mind in harmony.
“What I do is certainly a form of yoga, and it’s been my daily routine for the last two years,” Wolters said. “It’s had a huge impact on my life, controlling the mind, controlling the muscles, controlling all the emotions in your head. And it’s a way of slowing time down, feeling your body and getting it to where it needs to be.
“I believe it’s really important to breathe the right way, to have the right posture, to stretch your body regularly. Instead of having some Advil, yoga forces you to learn about the body and how to make it feel good naturally.”
Several teammates have adopted variations of the ancient discipline as well. The team’s performance program includes plenty of stretching and tension work — featuring the use of foam rollers, lacrosse balls and sawed-off PVC pipes — in addition to mobility work to help one’s hips and ankles. But there’s no devoted team yoga program, as Bud Black had while he was managing San Diego, so players who want to practice yoga do so individually.
Among those practitioners is closer Wade Davis. The 34-year-old right-hander started doing yoga in 2015 with the Royals, picked it up more while with the Cubs, and has become consistent with his program since signing with Colorado in 2018. He does yoga about three times a week and has an electronic, interactive “yoga mirror” that he uses to take classes.
“I first started because when I was lifting heavy weights I wanted to be able to lift more often, and keep the hamstrings and everything lengthened out,” Davis said. “Now, I’m thinking more performance-based. This year, I’m doing it more, and I’m definitely taking it more seriously by really trying to plug it in. Ideally, I want my hips and back to work better, which allows the arm to work better and stay healthy.”
Sports recovery programs have changed drastically since Black began his big-league career in the 1980s. Forget yoga in front of an electronic mirror. Back then, Black would sink his left arm in a bucket of ice after an outing, and the trainer would come along and throw three beers in the bucket as an added bonus.
But sports recovery has been revolutionized over the past couple of decades. The infiltration of yoga into the routines of all types of professional athletes doesn’t surprise Black or shortstop Trevor Story, who was originally turned on to the discipline by his wife.
“Over the past couple years, I’ve been doing some yoga at the house with my wife (Mallie),” Story said. “She’s encouraged me to do it, and we YouTube’d some videos and did it at home. Then I started doing it at my training facility in Fort Worth every Wednesday this offseason. It will be a bigger part of my routine this season, too.”
Even veteran outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who calls what he does “stretching that’s super-specific to my body,” has had a dedicated pregame and postgame routine to get his muscles in tune since he turned pro.
“It’s mostly involving my hips and my upper legs,” Blackmon said. “Stretching from my knees to my midsection is what I’m focused on. That’s where all your power comes from. All your big muscles are pushing and pulling every day, so it’s important to make sure those muscles are balanced and as recovered as you can get.”
Rockies 9, Mariners 6
At Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria, Ariz.
On the mound: Following Jon Gray, Ubaldo Jimenez allowed one run over two frames. Tim Collins was tagged for two runs in the fifth; Phillip Diehl looked strong with three strikeouts in one-plus innings. Right-handed prospect Alexander Guillen surrendered a three-run homer in the eighth.
At the plate: The Rockies were homer-happy, as Ryan McMahon, Sam Hilliard, David Dahl and Drew Butera all hit their first dingers of spring. Josh Fuentes was 3 for 3.
Worth noting: Colorado fan favorite Carlos Gonzalez, in Seattle’s camp as a non-roster invitee, started in right field and hit sixth. “CarGo” grounded out against Gray in his first-at bat, and then flew out to center against Jimenez in his second at-bat.
Up next: Cubs (5-5) at Rockies (5-4), 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, Salt River Fields
Rockies pitchers: RHP Ashton Goudeau, RHP Jose Mujica, RHP Bryan Shaw, RHP Jairo Diaz, LHP James Pazos
Cubs pitchers: LHP Jose Quintana, LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Dakota Mekkes, LHP CD Pelham, RHP Colin Rea, RHP Duane Underwood, RHP Rowan Wick
