Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel surprised with a 6-foot stack of chips at his locker

Share

Jason Hammel will have no trouble sticking to his new "PCP" diet.

The Cubs veteran starter was surprised with a six-foot stack of boxes filled with chips in front of his locker Wednesday morning, which will help him satisfy his new "Potato Chip Prescription."

Hammel said after his start Saturday he was prescribed potato chips by his doctor to help combat cramps that have plagued him over the past couple months. The potassium and salt in the chips help make them an unconventional "healthy" snack, at least in regards to Hammel's needs.

[WATCH: Joe Maddon says Jason Hammel has 'perfect excuse' to eat chips]

utz chips delivered five boxes to Hammel's locker with a note. Hammel mentioned the brand name to reporters off the cuff Saturday and then Tweeted out a photo of their chips:

Cubs manager Joe Maddon is all for the "PCP" diet.

"If it's working for him, I'm all about that," Maddon said. "What male does not look for an excuse to eat more potato chips?"

Hammel slimmed down in the offseason in an effort to stay consistent and durable and avoid the second-half issues that have hampered him the last two years.

He reiterated these chips are not a part of his regular diet, just a snack, so he's not planning on putting the pounds back on anytime soon.

"The misconception here is all I do is eat chips," Hammel deadpanned. "I made a commitment this offseason. This is very, very ironic that I'm standing next to boxes of chips. You make that commitment in the offseason to change the diet. Like I said, I'm obviously not eating chips for every meal, every snack."

[SHOP: Buy a "Try Not to Suck" shirt with proceeds benefiting Joe Maddon's Respect 90 Foundation & other Cubs Charities]

Hammel joked he should mention as many brand names as he can from now on to get more free stuff and said he should get the doctor to prescribe him steak or pizza now, too.

But he was careful to assure the Chicago media he would not be marketing beer now, alluding to the beer and fried chicken drama during Theo Epstein's last year with the Boston Red Sox (of which Hammel's current teammates Jon Lester and John Lackey were caught smack in the middle of).

"We've already had troubles with stuff in the past," Hammel said. "We don't wanna do that. No beer and chicken wings."

Hammel also joked he has so many chips now, he can take a "chip bath" instead of an ice bath after outings.

As for staying consistent down the stretch, Hammel is focused on more than just his diet.

"I want to continue to focus on the thought process," he said. "It's very important to go pitch-by-pitch and go game-by-game. Not getting too far ahead of myself. In the past, it was trying to make up for bad games by thinking ahead for a month. 'This is what I have to do to fix this or recoup from it.'

"I had the game in New York and obviously it was a disaster," Hammel continued, referecing his start against the Mets in which he surrendered 10 earned runs. "But like I said, I'm gonna make this one disappear. Just forget about it and move on. Stick with that thought process and continue to go pitch-by-pitch."

Contact Us