Annals of Admirable Posture: baseball edition

man holding two baseballs for story about baseball players' good posture
Posture watchers rejoice! It’s baseball time.                                                                                  Photo by Jose Morales via Unsplash

 

Catastrophic posture is all around us.
Once you know what it looks like, you’re guaranteed to see something that makes your eyes hurt pretty much every time you go outside. And if you turn on the television or open a magazine, being inside isn’t so safe either.
But then we hit October, the glory month of baseball.

No matter how you feel about the old ball game, if you care about posture, you’ll want to watch. (I’m with George Carlin, myself.) Human beings imitate what we see, and out on the baseball diamond, there’s posture worth imitating.

Yes, star athletes in almost any sport are likely to move from the balanced posture of Spinefulness. But soccer players, for example, rarely stand still for observation. Baseball is notoriously slow, which makes it perfect for posture watching.
In a long at bat, you can really study Aaron Judge, star home run hitter for the New York Yankees.

His ready position is butt out, spine long, shoulders relaxed. Yes, he’s six-foot seven, but even so, his back seems to elongate forever. Not a baseball fan? Tempted to just google “Aaron Judge, images,” to save time? I wouldn’t recommend it. Because it’s more dramatic, you can find plenty of images of Judge like this one, on his follow through, when he’s already swung at the ball. But the really admirable posture to my eye is when he’s waiting to swing.

Not everyone hits like Aaron Judge, and I’m not talking about home runs or RBIs.

You’ll see some tucked butts and bent backs, and not just on the umpires and managers. But odds are good that if you keep your eyes on the players while they keep theirs on the ball, you’ll see some gorgeous posture. Baseball, in fact, will soothe your eyes.

The Yankees play tonight and again on Friday. The World Series starts next Tuesday, October 22.  Treat yourself, and take a look.
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