JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================BK" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?j( ( pp}VmBfIT,#/"c^h0M`y(_*E,dso5ۍueh$!X~S{ TV0[EuM A-s 6D dhշm=Ot Y(b m杝QcFbp3Y Gs}s ̷҉"Iښ @2{Hʲ<z}iIo F@p1j^f=+P{{9$8)}r("]_P;V6ؗ!I}N+Wo-$Z+Jx89 GOhZu׈|" : :1$bN؞Ҹt4t=jZ{X|=N>ƺ]"kZ0lt(~S7z뛚 lq$>X^ rKVX@fTlgL$'nD^L7$7dcZR~G DmrI$ TfF:@(q\,׺jIu 6X>h6_ Ra.]W sm{y "q :d:J c"͎p"C4CZ֯LGgd?OyׄIA ~4Z鱳 )ԉ0uApkNi$Ċ1\ag = nl[̄:69@Cm9@DdhjZ84&[c\c*-+,nnx`ЪޟV8i$M<br> Had it been any other team, says Alejo,  I probably wouldn t have made the switch. As you know, baseball is behind in its approach to physical training. Everyone knows that football and weights go hand in hand, but baseball has never really embraced weight training. I knew, as an ex-player myself, that there are a lot of positive things that can be done and I knew if given the opportunity, I could prove it. <br><br>Alejo also recognized the rare opportunity that had been given him: a real chance to change the way everyone perceived baseball conditioning.<br><br> The Athletics were unique in that they already had a history and tradition of weight training when I arrived. The guy who had spearheaded it was Dave McKay, their first base coach, who was also a former player. As a big leaguer, he knew weight training had helped him in his career. He became one of the first strength coaches in baseball. The A s general manager was already sold on strength training; he just wanted an expert on the subject to fine-tune the progr