This juice is the new secret to success in MLB

It’s getting late and Giants reliever John Brebbia is just finishing his workouts. He can already begin to feel the pains in various parts of the body.

He gathers up his glove and his things and makes his way back to his house. There’s a game tomorrow at noon, so he has to go to bed early.

But before you get ready for bed, you have to do something else. A simple but important task.

He fills a glass with ice with a magical, refreshing and relaxing potion that he has been drinking for the last few years. A drink that baseball players have been consuming, and athletes in other sports have started drinking as well.

“It’s my bedtime routine,” Brebbgia said. “It helps me relax and sleep.”

Baseball players haven’t always been the healthiest.

The best pitcher in the world eats mostly fast food. Babe Ruth enjoyed good steak and whiskey, to name a few examples.

But in recent decades, players have started to get attached to the idea that maybe if they stay in shape, they can stay on the field longer and have more chances to win.

“I think there’s been a trend of increasing nutrition protocols,” Mets nutritionist Carsan Dittman said. “There have been more full-time nutritionists creating deeper relationships, in favor of products that should be consumed regularly.”

Teams didn’t start hiring nutritionists until around 2016, when the Rangers were the first to do so. Six years later, everyone has one.

The benefits of eating healthy, sleeping well and recovering properly are very important throughout a 162-game season. And one of the main ingredients in that regimen is cherry juice.

The benefits of drinking cherry juice have been proven for years. It has been shown that it can fight cancer and heart disease. But for baseball players, it’s a way to reduce inflammation and produce melatonin, which helps you sleep.

Leron Sarig, the Giants’ director of performance and nutrition since 2019, has emphasized the benefits of juice throughout his career.

“The fastest benefits is that they offer a good source of carbohydrates and antioxidants,” Sarig said. “It’s something they need for activities that require more of the physical aspect. Carbohydrates and antioxidants help relieve physical stress.”

Brebbia, who Dittman says is one of the biggest sticklers for the drinking routine, speaks highly of the sleep benefits.

“The first thing I noticed is that I sleep a lot better,” the 32-year-old reliever said. “I daresay I got tired the first time I had a glass. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing, because there are so many variables, especially throughout a baseball season. But I feel like I sleep pretty well, at least when I need to — like before a day game or something.”

Mets starter Taijuan Walker, like many of his teammates, often drinks the juice as well.

“I’ve been a couple of years [bebiéndolo]Walker told me. “I think I was with the Diamondbacks when I started doing it.”

“It’s been a couple of years [drinking it],” Walker told me. “I wanna say it was with the Diamondbacks where I first got introduced to it, drinking it on and off.”

But like many other players, cherry juice intake has increased since last year.

“I started drinking it more often,” Walker said. “This year, before every opening. Sometimes I take two. If I have a hard day, I also take one or two.”

“Yes, the players have embraced it and many on the team use it regularly,” Blue Jays nutritionist Jeremy Chiang said. “It reduces inflammation (pain), improves sleep quality and supplements the immune system.”

The taste of the drink is, well, quite acidic. It’s not the most refreshing. Dittman said Mets players mix it with water, while Sarig mentions a company that makes cherry juice mixed with apple.

However, despite the taste, the players recognize the value of the drink, being an important component of their routine.

“I’ve noticed that I’m not so sore after training,” Brebbia confessed. “Whether it’s because of this or because of the number of reps, I don’t know. But at least it’s a part of the routine that I enjoy and feel good about.”

“It’s one of those things that if I stop taking it, maybe I feel like I’m not going to recover the same,” Walker said. “It’s part of my routine. I don’t know how I would feel without him.”

And it’s not just for athletes. Regular folks can also enjoy its benefits, though Dittman recommends choosing your brand wisely.

“It’s best to take one that you know comes from food and not a supplement, unless it’s certified,” she says.

Sure, you might not need it to hit home runs and keep your throwing arm cool, but you could at least have a deep night’s sleep. Who doesn’t want that?