Giants Reportedly Banned Pablo Sandoval From Room Service
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Pablo Sandoval was reportedly banned from ordering room service when he was with the San Francisco Giants, as the team looked for ways to deal with the slugger's weight.
The third baseman, who signed a $95 million deal with the Boston Red Sox after the 2014 season, has continued to deal with eating issues and has struggled with his new team. Sandoval was benched by the Red Sox before the season opener.
"They would make special arrangements at the hotel the Giants were staying in to not allow him to order room service. They would tell the front desk management, 'If he calls down for room service at night after games, do not send anything to this room,'" Sean McAdam of Comcast SportsNet New England told 98.5 The Sports Hub, a CBS Radio station in Boston.
Listen to the interview (begins at 17:00, statement about Giants at 22:15).
McAdam went on to say the Giants efforts to keep Sandoval's weight down had limits.
"They went to great measures to try to cut down on those eating binges, and it would only work for a time because he would find someplace to get food," he said.
The revelations come as a former Sandoval trainer said the slugger gained 21 pounds in 21 days after the 2011 season and Sandoval had to undergo an intense training regimen to hide the weight gain from the Giants.
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"I would go pick him up at a random location, drive him to the facility so that his car wouldn't be there, so if they dropped in they wouldn't know he was there," Ethan Banning of Triple Threat Performance told the Boston Herald. "So for about a three-week period, he had the flu — we had every excuse in the world. We were just trying to rip weight off him again. And it ballooned way out of control."
The training worked, and Sandoval signed a $17 million deal with the Giants in early 2012.
Banning went on to criticize Sandoval, saying he would need a "babysitter" to help him control his weight.
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Yahoo Sports columnist Jeff Passan said Wednesday that the Red Sox were exploring ways to either trade Sandoval to another team or release the slugger.
Sandoval was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier this week.
