Although Walt Weiss has spent over 10 seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization between his stint as the team's shortstop from 1998 to 2000 to his tenure as bench coach under Brian Snitker from 2018 to 2025, his new position as manager has put him in the spotlight as fans and media attempt to get to know him better.
One bit of information that seemed to shock fans and media was Weiss's weight lifting abilities, with first baseman Matt Olson claiming that he had seen his new skipper rep 315 pounds in the gym. However, this shouldn't be too surprising to fans who know the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year's background playing alongside the Bash Brothers.
Walt Weiss was on the forefront of baseball's weight training revolution
Before Weiss debuted in the majors, weightlifting was not a common practice among major leaguers. Although there were a few players, like Carl Yastrzemski and Fred Lynn who saw improvements after hitting the gym, weights were mostly untouched by players, if not all together banned by their teams.
However, in the 1980s, an Oakland Athletics employed one of MLB's first strength trainers in Dave McKay. The Athletics saw immediate results, making three straight World Series appearances in 1988, 1989, and 1990. Some of that success was certainly thanks to stars Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire supplementing their weight training with performance enhancing drugs, but there's no doubt other Athletics who bought into McKay's training benefitted from the training, including Weiss.
Weiss never hit for power, but his .250/.312/.321 slash in addition to solid defense led him to win the AL Rookie of the Year in 1988, making him the third straight A's player to win the award. In 1990, Weiss was quoted in the LA Times mirroring the advice of McKay, who advised to avoid squats during the season.
After signing with the Rockies in 1994, he'd have wrestling matches with the relief pitchers in the equipment room. Even after his playing days were over, Weiss made sure to keep himself in shape by continuing to lift weights and even trained to become a black belt in taekwondo.
Although he's gone under the radar during his coaching tenure on the Braves, it should not be shocking that Braves new manager might be the best weightlifters in the clubhouse.