Babe Ruth

Best of Out-of-Shape Athletes

The original out-of-shape athlete, The Babe’s appetite for home runs, hot dogs, and booze is legendary. He was one of the first five inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but throat cancer left him emaciated when the Yankees retired his number in 1948. (AP Photo/National Baseball Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.)

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Shaquille O'Neal At 7-foot-1, being over 300 pounds isn’t all that bad. But Shaq, who is listed at 325 pounds, has to be closer to 425. O'Neal is famous for coming into training camp terribly out of shape, saying he wants to play himself into shape during the season, and then doing so if his team starts to win. That plan has had mixed results of late. And if he ever asks us how his backside tastes, our guess is: Rather marbled. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Tony Gwynn How can a guy so out of shape hit a baseball so consistently? He never batted below .309 in any full season of his 20-year career. He stroked 3,141 hits and always played with a big heart, a big smile, and a big belly. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell)
Craig Stadler: The 1982 Masters Champion is nicknamed “The Walrus” because of his build (5-foot-10, 250-lbs.) and his signature mustache. Please, Stadler's 'stache alone weighs 250 pounds. Then again, may we all look that good at 55. (AP Photo/Paul Warner)
Livan Hernandez The former Marlins, Nationals, and Diamondbacks (among others) starter is considered one of the best fielding pitchers in baseball history, so his weight didn’t limit his abilities on the diamond. But it may have caught up with him in 2005 when he was forced to have knee surgery. (AP Photo/LennyIgnelzi)
Eric Esch (Butte... Esch was known as “The King of Four Rounders,” probably because his body couldn’t handle going much further in a fight. When a 5-foot-11 frame has to carry 415 pounds, cardio isn’t going to be a strength to bank on. (AP Photo/Mike Salsbury)
Robert 'Tractor'... If you are nicknamed after farm equipment, you probably have a weight problem. Traylor was out of shape while playing hoops at Michigan, and things went from bad to worse in the NBA. In 2005, he lost an opportunity to play with the Nets after failing a physical. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Mo Vaughn Vaughn had said that his optimal playing weight was 235, but after ballooning up to a reported 275 while with the Mets in 2002, management told Vaughn that he could have his contract voided if he didn’t address his conditioning. Ouch. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Nate Newton Trivia: What weighs more, Nate Newton or the amount of marijuana he got caught with in his vehicle? If you guessed Newton, you were off by 20 pounds. As long as we're being generous, and go by his playing weight (368 pounds). (AP Photo/David Phillip)
George Foreman Twenty years after losing the heavyweight championship of the world to Muhammad Ali, Foreman defied age, extra weight, and Michael Moorer to regain the crown in 1994, proving that the grill salesman still had a bit of fire left in the tank. (AP Photo/Atsushi Tsukada)
Antonio Alfonsec... Known for having an extra digit on his pitching finger, El Pulpo was suspended in 2003 for bumping an ump with his stomach (a.k.a. the "Phillie Phanatic"). In 2002, the Marlins asked Alfonseca to lose 15 pounds to relieve stress on his back. He didn’t, and shortly thereafter he was traded. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)
David Wells Apparently, scales in Major League Baseball don’t go above 250 pounds because Boomer’s bio claims that's his playing weight. In 2007, Wells was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and has since vowed to take better care of his body. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Charles Barkley You don’t get a nickname like the “Round Mound of Rebound” by being svelte. While in college at Auburn, Barkley routinely weighed over 300 pounds, but thanks to Moses Malone, he learned how to stay a bit more "oval" during his Hall of Fame career. His post-career, however, is another story. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
John Kruk Food is always on John Kruk’s mind. He writes a column called “Chewing the Fat,” he once said he'd like to spend the rest of his life “eating at the Sizzler’s buffet,” and he even made a guest appearance on "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." (Getty Images/Scott Wintrow)
Cecil Fielder Fielder put the "big" in “Big Daddy.” In 1990, he became the first player to club 50 home runs since George Foster did it in 1977. Perhaps the most telling stat of his girth may have been his two career stolen bases. Like Alfonseca, Fielder was generously listed at 250 pounds on the back of his baseball card. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Prince Fielder The acorn didn’t fall far from the Fielder family tree. Like his father Cecil, not only did Prince reach the 50-home run plateau, but he is also listed around 250 pounds. That’s bound to change thanks to Fielder's vegetarian lifestyle and his uncanny knack for inside-the-park home runs. (AP Photo/Ron Kuenstler)
Tony Siragusa When you have your own line of BBQ products, chances are you are not one concerned with watching weight. The Goose, much like every other interior defensive lineman in the NFL, doesn’t miss many meals. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Shawn Kemp Once on the verge of stardom, a contract squabble led to Kemp's departure in Seattle. But weight problems (Kemp last topped out at 257 pounds), cocaine, and alcohol abuse derailed what was once a promising career. Who would have ever thought someone could make Shaq look lanky? (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Sebastian Janiko... When fans call you “The Polish Porkchop,” perhaps it’s time to look at your training habits. You’d think a 6-foot-2, 250-pound (there’s that number again) kicker would at least make a decent open-field tackle once in a while. (AP Photo/John Arrell)
Bartolo Colon Colon is listed at 250 pounds, but on his 5-11 frame, it looks more like 350. The only thing funnier than watching Colon try to pitch is watching him try to hit. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
William 'The Ref... At 6-foot-2, 382 pounds, Perry was as square as a refrigerator. The Fridge gained fame during the Bears’ shuffle to the 1985 Super Bowl title when the big man was used as a fullback near the goal line. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Babe Ruth The original out-of-shape athlete, The Babe’s appetite for home runs, hot dogs, and booze is legendary. He was one of the first five inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but throat cancer left him emaciated when the Yankees retired his number in 1948. (AP Photo/National Baseball Library, Cooperstown, N.Y.)
John Daly This guy prides himself on being so out of shape, Babe Ruth is jealous. Daly, a former PGA Championship and British Open champion, is listed at a laughable 220 pounds. Down to 220, John? Must be that beer, cigarette, and cheeseburger regimen. (AP Photo/Christof Stache)