Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta is among several stars - including Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and 12-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade - who will be featured in next month's ESPN The Magazine "Body Issue," the network announced Tuesday.
Arrieta's transformation into one of the game's best pitchers has been fueled in part by a rigorous commitment to exercise, which is evident in his 6-foot-4, 225-pound physique. The Cubs right-hander considers flexibility to be his No. 1 asset and says he trains with Pilates on a daily basis year-round.
"I try and push the boundary as far as I can while still getting a decent amount of recovery time," Arrieta told ESPN's Morty Ain in April. "The days where I really want to tax myself and replicate late-inning situations where your legs are heavy, I'll do about an hour of cardio beforehand, usually on a StairMaster. So I can replicate situations late in games, late in the season, where that nervous energy is at a heightened point and you have to control your emotions knowing your body is not completely where you need it."
Arrieta, last year's NL Cy Young winner, has been his predictably elite self this season for the first-place Cubs, authoring the majors' second-best ERA (1.74) with 101 strikeouts in 93 innings. He threw the second no-hitter of his career April 12 at Cincinnati, and his 11 wins are tied with Clayton Kershaw for the most in baseball.
ESPN's "Body Issue" is set to appear online July 6 and on newsstands July 8.
