Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno was rather blunt with reliever Huston Street when the two crossed paths at spring training.
Moreno greeted his players as they arrived in Tempe, and a thinner Street got a unique greeting.
“I’m really glad you lost some weight,” Moreno told Street, via Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times.
Street lost about 15 pounds after letting himself go over a period of a couple years following the death of his father in 2013. For two years, he managed to perform at a high level, but the lack of work and fitness came back to bite him in 2016, when he put up a 6.45 ERA. Now he has to compete to win his closer’s job back.
“When I started the season last year, the ball was coming out of my hand as clean as it’s ever come out of my hand. It just wasn’t going as fast,” Street said. “That can only be attributed to one thing: Lack of strength. Or, you’ve lost it. I gotta go prove this year that I haven’t lost it. And I love that.”
Getting backhanded compliments from the owner is just something he’ll have to deal with, apparently. He’s had to keep his sense of humor in the face of on-field struggles and surgeries, and it seems he still has his head up.
