ALTOONA, Pa. - Luis Heredia was a 16-year-old kid when he signed with the Pirates seven years ago. When I saw him yesterday, he looked tall and slimmer, seemingly in fantastic physical condition, and much more mature. If you would have seen him six weeks ago, the "slimmer" and "fantastic physical condition" part of that description would have not been the case.
When Heredia reported to Spring Training this year, his opening physical revealed that he had hypertension. With his blood pressure over 200, Heredia was immediately put on a strict diet to lose the weight and help correct the condition.