Joakim Soria didn’t wait long after the 2008 Major League season ended to start preparing for the 2009 season. Sure, Joakim, one of the game’s premier closers, did rest his right arm for a month, as any star pitcher should do. But then he went back to work, which meant getting into tip-top condition.
He took a conditioning program that the Kansas City Royals, who picked him up from the San Diego Padres in a Rule 5 draft in 2006, had given him and followed it religiously. No matter where he was during the offseason — Monclova, Mexico, Obregon, Mexico, or Kansas City – Joakim remained steadfast in following the program. He wanted to make certain his breakout season of ’08 wouldn’t be the only All-Star season he would have in the Majors.
Conditioning program
While home in Mexico, Joakim woke early each morning and immediately began his fitness routine. He started with cardiovascular work. In the afternoon, he would head to the stadium in Obregon, ran the field from foul pole to foul pole, did short sprints and progressed to agility drills with cones. A typical workout looked like this:
- 15 minutes of cardio (bike, elliptical, etc) to warm up.
- 10 sprints from the foul line to center field.
- 10 sprints from 90 feet.
Afterward, he lifted weights.
His workouts readied Joakim for the World Baseball Classic. He continued the Spring Training conditioning program the Royals used even though Mexico, his WBC team, didn’t have the elite training facilities the Royals organization has built in Surprise, Ariz., but he made do.
