Giants Broadcaster Says Pablo Sandoval Has An Eating Disorder 

Pablo Sandoval’s big spring training belly remains the topic of conversation outside Red Sox camp, even if no one actually in camp admits they care all that much. But while there are lots of angles you could take on Sandoval’s fitness and commitment, here’s at least one you probably shouldn’t.

Mike Krukow, the Giants’ longtime color commentator, has a diagnosis. Here’s what he said on KNBR this morning, via CSN Bay Area:

“It’s unfortunate,” Krukow said. “We love the guy. He was amazing in our uniform and amazing for our city ... there’s no more charismatic guy that I’ve ever met than this guy. You can’t help but love this guy.

“He’s just one of those people that you want to be around. And it’s unfortunate. I mean, he has an eating disorder. It’s plain and simple. He can’t control himself.”

It’s not best practices to diagnose mental disorders from some photos (and, to be fair, from a track record of weight fluctuations). But it’s also a huge leap: an actually telling sign of a possible disorder would be if Sandoval’s weight affects his ability to do his job, and I’m not sure you can say that as fact. He’s a big dude, always going to be big, and some of his best seasons in San Francisco notoriously came in his bigger years. Maybe Sandoval will have trouble holding up if he avoids conditioning, and that’s a legitimate issue (as is the issue over whether Sandoval was supposed to lose weight, something management claimed repeatedly in the offseason but Sandoval denies he was told). But for now he’s merely a big chubby fellow in the exact wrong market to be that.