f you haven’t seen No. 8 of late, he’s still fairly easy to find. Yet dietary discipline and workout routine have trimmed Blanks’ 6-foot-6 physique from 288 pounds to, as of yesterday morning, a comparatively compact 273.
He’s still enormous, but plainly leaner. Like one of the Alps after an avalanche.
“He’s not going to be modeling Calvin Klein underwear any time soon,” said Jim Malone, the Padres’ strength and conditioning coach, “(But) When he walked in here a few weeks ago, he looked great. He’s definitely stronger ... probably stronger than he realizes.”
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If Blanks is stronger now than he was last summer, he figures to be one mighty formidable fellow.
“I haven’t been this weight since college,” he said yesterday afternoon, “and I feel a world of difference.”