This is why some baseball players walk barefoot on the diamond

SAN FRANCISCO –

Shoes off and dropped off at the visitor’s dugout in San Francisco, Christian Walker begins his barefoot stroll through the immaculately manicured grass and makes his way to the right field, where he plops onto a sunny summer cove for a much-needed dose of vitamin D. Field day.

It’s a welcome chance for a good stretch and fresh air after an overland flight from Washington. It also offers a little quiet time, all to himself, before the structured baseball activity of warmups and hitting drills begins.

For nearly a decade, Walker has counted on this time before every game to connect his mind and body. And on this occasion, he even made a bare-handed catch while sitting with his legs forward, somehow reeling in a two-hopper from Nick Ahmed on Diamondback’s early hit – a first for Walker who used his Gold Glove defense skills used since he started his “grounding” routine. .”

The purpose of barefoot running is comprehensive: to allow the feet to move without the constraints of shoes to potentially reduce pain and inflammation, reduce stress and normalize the nervous system for better sleep and daily function, among other things. for the heart, cortisol levels and mental health.

“The science of grounding is harnessing the Earth’s energy,” Walker explains.

Some 10 minutes after Walker began his session, barefoot pitcher passes Kyle Nelson with a quick hello as he takes his own pregame walk to feel the grass between his toes. Ahmed does too, as Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman took off his shoes for a walk in Oracle Park during the June visit to Chicago.

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker warms up barefoot on the field before a baseball game between the Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Friday, June 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Janie McCauley)

San Francisco left-hander Sean Manaea is another huge fan, and you can often see him hopping or shuffling barefoot from the Giants dugout, his long dark locks swaying in the wind.

Walker is excited about how the practice – otherwise known as “grounding” – is catching on everywhere, as players find it useful for their own reasons.

When he started doing it during his sophomore season in the major leagues with Baltimore in 2015, Walker heard all the teasing, friendly jabs and scrutiny.

“Everyone has a funny joke about grounding or grounding or trying to make a joke about being a hippie or whatever the funny story is,” he said. “It’s cool to see more people doing it.”

Now, at age 32 and a nine-year veteran, Arizona’s slugging first baseman arrives early enough to get his work done 10-15 minutes before the home team begins its pregame routine of batting practice and ground balls.

Sometimes it’s just walking around the outfield, or lying in the grass and stretching his limbs.

“I like the sunlight on me, so I try to wear something sleeveless,” Walker said. “It doesn’t take much. Even if the other team is here doing batting practice, I can usually find a quiet corner somewhere and just be in the moment.”

He started grounding under the guidance of then Orioles strength coach Trevor Howell – “before there was a lot of information about it.”

“It started when we were working on sprint form and ankle mobility and things like that,” Walker said, “and it’s evolved into something else for me.”

Manaea almost dances as he moves barefoot through the grass from left field to the hidden bullpen in center field for a breathing session led by Giants human performance specialist Harvey Martin.

Assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez joins in, and the three men find seats along the outfield wall where they’re safe when a batting practice ball flies over the fence.

For 15 minutes they transform into another world. Inhale and exhale in a steady rhythm, then hold the breath for 90 seconds. To repeat. It is focused meditation and breathwork.

“The first thing I go to in foundation is your breath,” Martin said. “Breathing is a kind of language of the body, the connection between mind and body.”

Manaea, who pitched a no-hitter for Oakland five years ago and played several roles in his first campaign with the Giants, suddenly found himself needing support in San Diego last season as he struggled with self-doubt. Finally, the pitcher asked for help, and he knew he had to make changes—hardly an easy task for someone who describes himself as a “lonely person.”

Manaea confided his struggles to his girlfriend, teammates, family and friends.

Now he regularly works on breathing and even focuses on something as simple as being a better friend.

Joc Pederson of San Francisco also counts on constant support from Martin and is committed to breathwork and grounding. He and Manaea have pointed to the important skills they’ve learned from both Martin and Shana Alexander, the Giants’ director of mental health and wellness.

“It was very helpful to realize that I am not alone on this journey,” said Manaea. “It’s not just me, there’s a team behind me. It took me a long time to realize that. … It took me a while to realize that there are people in my corner.”

Manaea said he learned from a 2022 season in which he underperformed by his standards: 8-9 with a 4.96 ERA and his fewest innings at 158 ​​pitches a full season since his 2016 rookie year at Oakland.

“I don’t think I did really well,” he said, “but I got through it.”

Ahmed from Arizona reminds herself to be “grateful for the opportunity I have to do what I love to do and to do what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid.”

For Walker, it’s soothing to keep baseball in perspective by reminding himself every day to take in the beauty around him, to notice the little details. Even in the unpredictable conditions of Colorado’s Coors Field, where you can get snow in May.

He looked around the empty San Francisco ballpark last month and appreciated all the elements.

“For me, it’s not about having a nice day,” said Walker. “What I’m looking for is just being outside – the fresh air, feeling the grass on my feet, walking around and feeling my toes can spread. It’s more of a decompression I feel like than anything else. . ..

“It’s just such a nice change, especially in this baseball stadium. This is so cool.”