Braves outfielder Drew Waters spoke with the media at Chop Fest on Jan. 25 at Truist Park. In the interview, he discussed his new work with a team nutritionist, his recent experience with Team USA and playing with confidence. The interview was edited for brevity.
Q: After being at spring training last year and then having the year that you had, how much closer does it feel now? Do you feel like you made some steps?
A: "Definitely, I would say I made some steps in my game last year. One of the big things was me just adding size and strength, and I could really tell that it made a difference. I haven't really processed everything I've done in the past year; a lot has happened. I've had the opportunity to play in Double-A, play in Triple-A, play for Team USA, and play for all of these different teams. It's been an unbelievable year, and it's been a year that I won't ever forget. I'm just trying to take it one step at a time and do everything that I can to get up to Atlanta and help the big club."
Q: How much size did you put on? Is that where you’re at now?
A: "When I was in (Single-A) Rome, I was 180 pounds. Going into spring training last year I was right at 195 (pounds).
“I’m floating around the 195-pound area right now. I’ve been doing a lot of work with the Braves nutritionist, and I would say it’s a different kind of 195 (pounds). Last year, there was a lot of good weight, but a lot of bad weight that came with it. This year I feel like it’s all good weight, and I feel not only the strongest I’ve ever been, but also the quickest and most explosive I’ve ever been.”
Q: When you say you’ve been working with a nutritionist, how much of a change to your diet had to happen on a day-to-day basis?
A: "It really wasn't too much of change. It was just things like not going to Chick-fil-A and eating Chick-fil-A three times a day. I had a bad habit of that. So, there's different supplements that she'll have us on, and then, for the most part, it's to try and eat grilled chicken and rice and other things with a lot of calories and protein. I can definitely tell that it's helping me with strength, and I can see my body start to transform to get a little bit of that man-strength that everyone talks about.
Q: What was the best part about that Team USA experience?
A: "For me, I look at all these opportunities, and all these different things that I do, as opportunities to learn and continue to become a better baseball player. I feel like the big thing that I took away from playing (with Team USA) in Japan and playing in Mexico was getting used to playing in that type of environment. At minor league games, you might get a couple thousand people, but when we're playing at the Tokyo Dome, it's completely sold out, and it's like being at an Atlanta United soccer game. You can't even think it's so loud. So, being able to be put in that environment and having the pressure of losing mean that we might not qualify for the Olympics (was good for me). It was a great experience because, hopefully, I'll be playing in that pressure one day soon, except I'll be playing for a World Series."
Q: You’ve talked a little bit about your confidence and your swagger; how important is that to what you do and to your success?
A: "I think confidence and swagger; I'm all for it. We play one of the hardest games in the world. We have guys throwing 100 miles (per hour) at us. We have guys like Ronald Acuna, Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich. If you think that I'm going to be able to go out there and compete with those guys and not be confident in my ability, you're crazy. If I'm not out there confident and thinking to myself that I'm the man on this field, I'm going to start playing defensively or I might just get caught up in the moment. When you take that cocky swagger out there on the field with you, it makes you feel like you're in control."
