The reasons are twofold. One is that he finally has paid attention to his wife, who had suggested five or six years ago that he should take up Pilates. The other is a new diet, which won’t include, among other things, sunflower seeds, which has been a staple for baseball players largely since tobacco disappeared from the clubhouse.

Cecil, who has worked with an instructor in Odessa, called his Pilates experience “awesome. Some guys can do the same kind of workouts day in and day out but I get bored really easily. So these new things I can try and actually see results from are very encouraging because I felt I was doing the same thing over and over for years and years. I was just stalled.”

As far as his diet, Cecil said the medical staff sent him a logistics test that tested his food sensitivities. “Three out of the four were things I had in my body 24 hours a day,” said Cecil.

“That was milk, eggs and sunflower seeds. Cashews were another one but I don’t really eat those every day. But sunflower seeds? I’ve been eating those my whole life for six months out of the year.