Mike Bordick vs. The Internet Beef Thyroid

#14 in your program and #26 on the Periodic Table

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And so it goes that in Baltimore, in 1997, the Iron Man was replaced at shortstop by a future iron man.

“I started eating more organ meats,” longtime big leaguer Mike Bordick told me earlier this week. “I eat liver all the time, I eat heart. I think there’s an incredible amount of nutrient density in those foods.”

Hello, Clarice.

I think this is the right time to make it very clear that Mike Bordick is not a medical professional, nor is WTP a medical journal. Nothing that you have read or will read here should be taken as medical advice. In case you’re still uncertain, please allow me to continue sharing my conversation with the 14-year MLB veteran.

“So I started experimenting with other foods. I ate kidney, I ate spleen, and then I found a site that had beef thyroid, beef adrenal glands, beef pancreas. And so I ordered this beef thyroid, and I tried it out.”

Any beef thyroid fans out there? Anyone suddenly in the mood, perhaps, for a salad today?

I learned of Bordick’s current commitment to fitness and nutrition via his Instagram account. When he’s not instructing young players or serving the community, the 57-year-old carnivore is pushing himself with weight training and sprints. Additionally, Chef Mike uses social media to showcase some of his kitchen delicacies.

It turns out that internet beef thyroid doesn’t always come with a warning label.

“It sent me into a toxic thyroiditis and, for three weeks, I was done. No energy. I lost 10 pounds in, like, two or three weeks. Fortunately, my wife got me in to get tested. I found that my thyroid was kind of spiraling out of control.”

Imagine explaining that injury to the media. I had plenty of experience with the administrative aspects of a Disabled List placement; beef thyroid overdose would have definitely required the “Other” option from the drop-down menu on the form — and probably a call to the Commissioner’s Office.

So how does Bordick, now fully recovered, view the experience? “Live and learn, I guess,” he says, dusting himself off after a little high heat from the offal gods. The more significant note is that his wife threw away his beef adrenal glands and his beef pancreas. Not exactly turning two the old fashioned way.

“Thank God I didn’t try those because who knows what would have happened.”

Bordick’s current health journey began less than 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with high blood pressure and doctors discovered “a little bit of a blockage” in one of his arteries. Around the same time, his father was diagnosed with — and ultimately passed away from — cancer.

He sought to learn more about the body and the ways in which nutrition impacts it. As he cleaned up his diet — among other things eliminating alcohol and chewing tobacco, two staples of baseball culture — he freed himself of blood pressure medications.

“It took me 50 years basically to change my eating habits because I was always a little guy and always wanted to get bigger.”

With carbo loads in his rearview mirror, I wondered if Bordick’s outlook on fitness and nutrition gave him a greater appreciation for former teammates.

“I think Brady Anderson was always kind of cutting edge,” he says. “He was a step ahead when it came to working out. He was a guy that actually brought Olympic lifting into the Orioles clubhouse.”

Yet another type of iron man enters the story, no?

Meanwhile, Bordick adds, many of his teammates tried to caution Anderson against the heavy lifting. “It was like, What are you doing, man? You're gonna hurt yourself.” Anderson’s diet — “he was always eating salmon” — was also ahead of the curve in big league clubhouses, “but a lot of us really didn’t take to it,” Bordick concludes.

But don’t think that Mike Bordick, once an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine, is all beef hearts and wind sprints these days.

“I have moments where I break down, too. I mean, my gosh, ice cream might be my worst vice ever… If I go three weeks [eating healthy], I feel like I owe it to myself to go buy a pint of Ben and Jerry’s or Häagen-Dazs.”

For Bordick, it’s appreciating how good he feels now that motivates him to adhere to his disciplined lifestyle.

During our conversation, Bordick referenced a few books that have nourished his curiosity. He’s currently reading Brain Energy by Christopher Palmer. I plan to read the book, which explores the relationship between metabolism, mitochondria, and mental heath, before Opening Day. And Bordick isn’t the only person excited by this book. Palmer has been making the podcast rounds, discussing his research with numerous hosts.

So if you’re not yet ready to commit to organ meats but are curious about the journey that Bordick is on, search for “Chris Palmer” in your podcast app and pick from many of the results you’ll find. Or grab the book and let us know what you think.

With the Super Bowl taking place this weekend, it feels safe to say we’re only a few days away from baseball season. But before we get there, I want to know who you think is going to win the big game on Sunday.

Have a great weekend. What do you think Bordick is serving at his Super Bowl party?

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