Lead
The story goes that John Kruk, the rotund '90s All-Star first basemen, was enjoying a cigarrette once, and was confronted by a woman who recognized him and wondered how he could smoke and be a professional athlete. He replied: "I ain't an athlete, lady, I'm a baseball player."
Which sums up part of the appeal of America's pastime: you don't actually have to be in great shape to play it, and, on occasion, play it well. Not that it's easy—you try throwing a baseball 90 miles an hour, much less hitting a baseball traveling 90 miles an hour—but it's not inconceivable that dudes with 10, 20, maybe even 50 pounds to spare could do well at the sport. From workhorse hurlers to slugging first basemen to even the occasional Gold Glove winner—these are the 25 Greatest Fat Baseball Players of All Time. Lift a mug (and maybe a chicken wing) in a hearty salute!
Gates Brown
Dmitri Young
Terry Forster
Jeff Burroughs
Sid Fernandez
Mo Vaughn
Livan Hernandez
Rick Reuschel
Smoky Burgess
Bob Horner
Terry Pendleton
David Wells
John Kruk
Greg Luzinski
Prince Fielder
Cecil Fielder
Miguel Cabrera
C.C. Sabathia
Boog Powell
Mickey Lolich
Fernando Valenzuela
Hack Wilson
Kirby Puckett
Tony Gwynn
Babe Ruth
1. Babe Ruth
Years Active: 1914-1935
Team(s): Red Sox, Yankees, Braves
Playing Weight: 215 lbs.
You could make a really convincing argument that Babe Ruth is the best baseball player of all time, period (a career OPS of 1.164 and 29.2 consecutive scoreless World Series innings will help you make that point), so the fact that he's purported to have once downed 12 hot dogs and 8 bottles of soda between games is just icing on the cake (you've gotta have some cake after all those dogs and pop, right?). Just think: If Ruth could accomplish what he did given the amount of performance-hindering substances he ingested, imagine what he might've done in the age of BALCO? On second thought, let's not. We like the legend of Babe Ruth just fine the way it is.