FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Mike Bordick remembers it simply.
"Ridiculous stuff," he says wryly.
B. J. Surhoff is typically a little more understated. Describing the hours he and his Orioles teammate spent at the Ripken Sport Acceleration Center in Columbia this winter, the left fielder talks about running backward on an elevated treadmill, occasionally needing a spotter to prevent a wipeout at 20 mph and listening as a TV reporter got sick while attempting the workout.
Under the supervision of Orioles strength and conditioning coach Tim Bishop, who also supervises the Ripken Center, Bordick, Surhoff and sometimes Ripken put themselves through a relentless program that could turn six seconds of hell into an eternity.
Forget the "I Survived the Meltdown of '98" T-shirts. "I Went to Hell and Back at Cal's Place" would be more appropriate.
The three thirty-something players have always been recognized as among the most dogged conditioning proponents inside the Orioles' clubhouse. But the program adapted by Bishop introduced a manic element into the trio's search for a new level.
"It was absolutely brutal," said Bordick, who stayed with the program the longest because of fewer off-season commitments. "It's easily the most difficult off-season training that I've ever done. You have to want to do it. If not, there's no way."
Bishop's modified program was designed to create more explosive speed rather than the endurance associated with lengthy sessions jogging on a treadmill, cycling a stationary bicycle or the mind-numbing repetitions of extensive weight training. Divided into six phases of 12 steps apiece, the program included resistance training and repetitive sprint work. It isn't designed for those wanting to get in shape. By necessity, they'd better already be there. Surhoff played in each of the Orioles' 162 games last season. For a third consecutive season, Bordick appeared in more than 150. Ripken, of course, finally sat after 2,632 games.
"You read it and it doesn't seem like it's going to be that hard. Then you get up on there and it's pretty rough. The components are laid out such that it really demands a lot of you. It was a lot tougher than it looked on paper," said Surhoff, who in December signed a three-year contract to remain in Baltimore.
Just as Surhoff has made himself into one of the game's most solid left fielders -- strong enough that manager Ray Miller shifted Albert Belle to right field after Belle signed a five-year, $65 million contract -- he also possesses quiet speed despite knees left chronically sore by years of catching. Before reporting to spring training Surhoff had been clocked approaching 23 miles per hour, a speed consistently attained by Bishop, a former two-sport athlete as a Yankees prospect and a St. Louis Cardinals receiver. World class sprinters can do 31 miles per hour.
The sessions lasted 60-90 minutes and included as many as 28 repetitions. The first level of the first phase requires 18 runs lasting from six to 60 seconds with a treadmill elevated from 5 to 15 degrees. At its most demanding, the treadmill can be jacked to 40 degrees. Most sprints are conducted in six-second bursts with little time in between.
"The best athletes are stubborn and highly competitive," says Bishop. "It helps to have both qualities for this."
Without naming names, Surhoff acknowledges the program may be too much for players less than fanatical about conditioning.
"There's no question you would have a number of guys losing their cookies," said Surhoff, a regular participant in Ripken's off-season basketball games who also is considered among the team's top athletes. "When we were doing something similar down at the stadium I think some of the guys found out what it is to be pushed."
A hint of sadism creeps into Surhoff's voice when he remembers a local television type's stab at participatory journalism.
Attempting the first stage of the first level, the broadcaster vomited his breakfast. A few minutes later the stricken talent lost his lunch. Talk about out-takes.
Surhoff admittedly became lightheaded numerous times and experienced double vision on infrequent occasions. Bordick showed up the first day and couldn't finish.
"It was absolutely ridiculous. I just couldn't do it," Bordick recalls. "I wasn't prepared for it to be that intense."
Said Surhoff: "Something that might have been tough the first week, like sprinting backward, you build up a tolerance for it. I can ride a bike for 30 minutes and get nothing out of it or I can ride a bike for 10 minutes and kill myself. It's all about the amount of effort you put into it."
To graduate from Phase I, the athlete must run 19 miles per hour. To go beyond Phase II, he must dial it up beyond 20 miles per hour. Because of Surhoff's participating in a tour of Japan and Ripken's conducting fantasy camps in Arizona and Hawaii, plus the arrival of spring training, none of the players completed Phase III. However, everyone progressed far enough that they were eventually sprinting backward on a treadmill and being tethered by ropes.
"It's one of those things where your body has to adapt. Nobody can go in there, jump on the treadmill, run the program and say it was easy, except maybe for triathletes. It's demanding. It's work," Bordick said.
And, insisted Bordick, it's already on the calendar for next winter.
Pub Date: 3/07/99