In Major League Baseball, it’s never been unusual to see a few bulky players dominating the diamond, especially from the batter’s box. Think of David Ortiz, the “Big Papi.” He was never celebrated for his speed or agility, but his bat did all the talking. 10-time All-Star, 3-time World Series champion, and a member of the 500-home-run club. Then there’s CC Sabathia, the towering 6-foot-6, 300-plus-pound lefty who racked up 251 wins, a Cy Young Award, and a World Series title, staying effective well into the twilight of his career.

So, baseball has long made room for players whose size didn’t match the prototypical athlete, because performance trumps appearances. And that’s why it felt jarring, even out of place, when a broadcaster crossed the line during Game 3 of the Mets-Giants series. Yes, while Rafael Devers was at the plate, the SportsNet New York booth took an unexpected detour. Fat-shaming Giants legend Pablo Sandoval on live television. And, surprisingly, the commentator himself is a legend on the diamond!

“He always had the weight issues,” Keith Hernandez said of Sandoval. “He just fell off a cliff, but he had some big years for the Giants. Didn’t he go to the Red Sox? Just kind of bombed out there. He came back [to the Giants] and didn’t do the push-ups from the dinner table.“

Well, Sandoval’s weight was a talking point long before he ever put on a Red Sox jersey. Both the Giants and the Red Sox had pushed him at different times to slim down, and it was something that followed him throughout his career. But in San Francisco, that storyline never defined him. Fans adored him as the Kung Fu Panda, and with good reason.

He was a 3x World Series champ, a 2x All-Star, and the 2012 World Series MVP. He played big in every sense, proving you could still produce even if you didn’t look like the typical athlete. Yes, things changed after he signed that five-year, $95 million deal with Boston in 2014. His first season didn’t live up to expectations, and the Red Sox missed the playoffs. And around that time, Comcast Sports’ Sean McAdam shared that the Giants had even gone to extreme lengths to keep Sandoval from overeating.

So yes, it is not new for Sandoval to get called out for being overwaited. But after all these years, and that too when Rafael Devers was batting. Call it a coincidence or not, Devers is also known for being bulky, and still, he is hitting. In the latest 12-4 drubbing of the Mets, the Giants’ slugger scored a 3-run homer, proving skills have nothing to do with weight.

The Giants star had a clear stance on his weight

“I don’t weigh. I don’t weigh in at all, and just do my work, try to do everything I can out there. Don’t weigh at all in the whole offseason, and I just try to get better, be in a better position and, like I say, be an athlete,” Sandoval was once vocal about his overweight issue during his stay in Boston in 2016.

Well, for Sandoval, it’s a clear and simple approach to being a slugger. You get to the batter’s box, you get a good pitch, and you swing. There’s nothing in between.

So yes, the Giants legend never fit the traditional mold of a professional athlete, and guess what  — he never really cared. Long before he put on a Red Sox uniform, his weight was the topic that seemed to follow him everywhere. Coaches and executives in both the Giants and Red Sox would nudge him to slim down, but Sandoval never let that define him.

Notably, even after signing a $95 million deal with the Red Sox in 2014 and facing harsh criticism when his production dipped, Sandoval maintained his easygoing confidence. He knew the numbers on the scale weren’t the numbers that defined his career. What mattered were the championships, the clutch hits, and the joy he brought to the game. And you achieved all that!

Hence, Sandoval’s story was a reminder that greatness in baseball doesn’t always come in the shape people expect. And that confidence in who you are can be just as powerful as any stat line. Just go through Hernandez’s commentary one more time, and you will get how Hernandez commended the achievements of Sandoval despite his weight issue.