As we await our first glimpse of Matt Kemp, who hopefully is in the “best shape of his life,” a look back at how Lonnie spent the the winter following his terrific 1989 campaign.
The Lonnie Smith Weight Watch has been an ongoing concern in Atlanta ever since word got out in January that Smith, the team’s 1989 MVP (.315 average, 21 homers, 25 stolen bases), had tipped the scales at 226, some 35 pounds over his playing weight and somewhat unseemly for a 5’9″ ballplayer. The term “plate appearances” had taken on a whole new meaning for Smith.