Ex-trainer: Pablo Sandoval needs babysitter to curb eating problem

A man who once worked with Pablo Sandoval to lose weight says the third baseman has an eating problem and needs a babysitter to help curb the issue.

Ethan Banning, the owner of Triple Threat Performance, says he worked with Sandoval prior to the beleaguered slugger’s All-Star seasons with the San Francisco Giants in 2011 and 2012. Banning told The Boston Herald that Sandoval ballooned so much during an offseason in Venezuela that the two had to scramble to get Sandoval to lose 20 pounds in a matter of weeks. That included doing three workouts per day six days a week, and two workouts a day on the seventh. They even went to great lengths to shield Sandoval from the Giants so the team wouldn’t see how overweight he was.

Banning, who has not worked with Sandoval since but got a call from the Red Sox infielder’s brother over the offseason, tells the Herald that Sandoval needs a baby sitter to watch over him.

“You need the baby sitter. Hey, that’s a pretty harsh statement. At the end of the day, I’m speaking truth. … I love the guy,” Banning told The Herald.

Banning also compared Sandoval’s issue to alcoholism.

“He needs to be smart enough to say there’s problem. It’s like the alcoholic that wont admit he’s an alcoholic: well, you can’t address that you’re an alcoholic if you don’t ever admit there’s a problem. He’s got to address that.

“He’s proven to me and shown consistently that he’s got to have somebody like me holding his hand doing that. And it’s not an exercise thing, it’s an eating thing. Obviously exercise is an important factor in it, a very important factor, but eating is going to be the component that needs to be managed and monitored. We had a chef on staff that cooked all his meals.”

Banning pointed to two other problems that do not help. One, he says Sandoval needs to know when to say no to people about food, which is tough, because food is such a big part of the Venezuelan culture. Secondly, he says Sandoval eats when he is stressed, which leads to weight gains.

Many were outraged over these comments a Giants broadcaster made about Sandoval in February, but he may actually be right.

Sandoval was placed on the DL this week with a shoulder injury and is going for an MRI. He reportedly has told the Red Sox to play him or trade him. But with $75 million still owed to him, the Red Sox may have a tough time finding takers for the rotund third baseman.