New York Yankees strength and conditioning coach, Eric Cressey, hosted a secret performance gym for players during the pandemic.
Brittany Ghiroli of The Atheltic is reporting that there was a secret “fight club” for MLB players during the pandemic. It was run by New York Yankees trainer and strength/conditioning coach Eric Cressey.
He ran a performance gym in Florida that played host a number of top players, who kept the whole thing on the hush-hush, hence the “fight club” comparison. New York stars Giancarlo Stanton, Noah Syndergaard, Michael Wacha, and Robert Gsellman were all present at the facility. They were joined by megastars like Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Paul Goldschmidt, and Corey Kluber.
It was a gathering of All-Stars from all over the country. They all came to Cressey so they could train with other players. It wasn’t just major leaguers in attendance either. According to Ghiroli, a number of minor league players were also in attendance.
If there’s any way that these young players can keep their progression going without a minor league season, this would be it. There’s no better way to improve than facing elite competition and getting notes from the best in the world.
Cressey said that the facility was running with COVID-19 safety precautions. Players had to socially distance while they trained, which took up the entirety of the facility.
The hard part was keeping it all under wraps. Cressey wanted to make sure his gym was a safe haven away from the eyes of media and MLB. His rules were so strict that the players called it a “fight club” or “prohibition baseball.”
The group played just two full games. Both games were played in the final week of June. Hopefully, that keeps the players loose and ready for the start of the season on July 24.
