Pro Ballplayers Train at Santa Barbara’s Peak Performance Project

Inside a building near the railroad tracks at the end of Santa Barbara Street, a dozen well-muscled men performed various exercises-thrusting weights overhead, leaping onto a 42-inch-high platform, flinging heavy balls off a wall, pulling on resistant cables, prostrating themselves over cylinders on the floor-while a doctor in a white warmup suit monitored their exertions. It could have been a scene out of a James Bond movie, depicting the high-tech training of field agents whose survival would depend on superior fitness.

In actuality, it was a workout session for men who would be armed with bats and balls. These were professional baseball players engaged in off-season conditioning. Word of mouth had brought them to this building that housed P3-the Peak Performance Project-with its slogan emblazoned on the wall: “Where Science Meets Athletic Performance.”

There was another saying on the T-shirts worn by several of the men: “No, I don’t use steroids, but thanks for asking.”