The science of sport has come a long way – in perhaps no sport more than Major League Baseball – and the San Francisco Giants seem to be taking it to the next level.
In an effort to get Giants players to take hydration as seriously as possible, the team will be awarding a urinal shaped trophy after every series to the player who posts the best hydration score. The trophy was the idea of Geoff Head, a former defensive back for Northern Arizona University who is entering his third year as the Giants’ sports science specialist.
This award goes to #SFGiants best hydrated player (M-V-Pee trophy?) as part of emerging Sports Science program https://t.co/KgwRux87b8 pic.twitter.com/mIQqpniP29
— Daniel Brown (@mercbrownie) March 29, 2017
“An area we’re really focused on is hydration. And one of the ways we check players’ hydration daily is through what’s called USG — a urine specific gravity machine,” [sports science specialist Geoff] Head explains.
The Giants value these readings so much that they’ve turned urination into a competition. To be eligible to win the coveted Hydration Domination contest, players must post their best scores before batting practice. The best hydrated player after each series wins an award shaped like a golden urinal. Think of it as the M-V-Pee trophy.
These tests are 100 percent voluntary. The Major League Baseball Players Association is explicit in its medical privacy guidelines regarding the results of such body monitoring. Not even Manager Bruce Bochy nor General Manager Bobby Evans are privy to the individual test results.
Bruce Bochy nor Bobby Evans will be privy to the individual test results, but we’ll do our best to bring you the season standings for the M-V-Pee trophy as the season progresses.