New Giants closer Mark Melancon published an article entitled “Hello, San Francisco” for the Players’ Tribune on Tuesday.
The piece mostly centers around Melancon’s excitement about joining the club, and how much he enjoys playing at AT&T Park. The most notable tidbit doesn’t have anything to do with Melancon’s signing, however, but rather centers around a humorous episode involving Hunter Pence and hot yoga.
Pence was Melancon’s teammate with the Houston Astros in 2010 and 2011. At the time, Melancon was doing Bikram yoga – 90 minute yoga with the temperature set at 105 degrees – four or five times a week to increase his flexibility. When Pence found out, he was fascinated, and decided to tag along with Melancon for a session.
Here’s the full story:
“Why don’t you join me for a session and try it out?” I said. With that, his eyes kind of lit up.
As Giants fans know, Hunter is one of the most intense guys you’ll ever meet. He does everything at 110%. Everything. He’ll run through a wall if he has to. And he was so pumped for that session. I mean, he was ready to go.
Then they turned up the heat.
After about five or 10 minutes, I take a peek over at Hunter, and he looks like he’s about to die. He’s drenched in sweat and just … struggling. But he gives me this look like, It’s cool. Everything’s O.K. It’s just yoga.
The competitor in him wouldn’t give in to the heat, or allow him to pace himself. So he’s over there trying to max out every single pose. Just trying to nail everything. And, you know, during your first yoga class that’s nearly impossible to do.
Ultimately he made it through. But by the end of the session, he looked like a sack of potatoes. As he stumbled out of the room, I asked him if he was all right.
He played it cool.
“Yep. Of course. That was great, man. Good stuff.”
So we take off and head out, and I don’t think anything of it.
The next day, Hunter calls me up.
“Mark, that was the craziest workout ever,” he says. “I could barely stand up after that. And get this, on my way home I pulled into a parking lot and I was so out of it that I backed my car into the front bumper of another car. Dude, the bumper actually fell off! Like the whole way off. I’ve never done that before. I couldn’t believe it. Hot yoga is crazy, man. It cost some poor guy his bumper!”
As it turns out, I’m pretty sure that was the last time Hunter Pence and I did Bikram yoga together. We still laugh about it to this day.