THE BASEBALL SUPPLEMENT PLAYBOOK

Why electrolytes, creatine, and collagen are three of the most useful supplements for baseball players

Baseball places several different demands on the body. Players must stay hydrated through long practices and games, repeatedly produce explosive power, and manage the stress that throwing, swinging, sprinting, and lifting place on their muscles and connective tissues.

No single supplement addresses all of those demands. Electrolytes, creatine, and collagen each serve a different purpose:

Electrolytes help replace what is lost through sweat.
Creatine supports repeated high-intensity performance.
Collagen provides amino acids used in connective tissue.

Supplements cannot replace quality food, sufficient calories, sleep, hydration, strength training, or a well-designed throwing program. They should support those fundamentals—not attempt to replace them.

01 — ELECTROLYTES

Replace What the Game Takes Out

Baseball may not involve continuous running, but players can spend several hours practicing or competing in hot conditions. Sweat removes both water and electrolytes, particularly sodium.

Electrolytes help the body maintain fluid balance and support normal nerve and muscle function. For baseball players, they may be especially valuable during:

• Hot and humid games
• Long practices
• Doubleheaders and tournaments
• Bullpen sessions and conditioning
• Days with unusually heavy sweating

A large review of team-sport research found that sweat losses can be significant and that dehydration was more likely to impair performance when body-mass losses reached approximately 3–4%, particularly when heat stress was involved. The authors also noted that direct performance findings in team sports, including baseball, were mixed—meaning electrolytes should be used to address actual hydration needs rather than treated as an automatic performance booster.

What the research found

In a randomized clinical trial, athletes exercised until they lost approximately 2.6% of their body mass. During recovery, an oral electrolyte solution and a sports drink produced greater fluid retention than plain water. After 3.5 hours, participants retained approximately 77% of the oral rehydration solution, 74% of the sports drink, and 58% of the water they consumed.

A systematic meta-analysis also found that carbohydrate-electrolyte beverages—particularly hypotonic formulations—generally supported central hydration during prolonged exercise more effectively than water alone.

What this means for baseball

Electrolytes are most useful when a player is sweating enough to lose meaningful amounts of fluid and sodium. The goal is not to consume as much sodium as possible. The goal is to replace losses appropriately and arrive at later innings, workouts, and games well hydrated.

Evidence strength: Strong for supporting rehydration. Direct improvements in baseball performance depend on the athlete, conditions, sweat losses, and starting hydration status.

02 — CREATINE

Power for Repeated Explosive Efforts

Creatine helps increase the availability of phosphocreatine inside muscle. Phosphocreatine is used to rapidly regenerate ATP, the energy source muscles depend on during short, explosive efforts.

That makes creatine particularly relevant to actions frequently performed by baseball players:

• Swinging
• Throwing
• Sprinting 90 feet
• Jumping and changing direction
• Repeated high-intensity weight-room sets
• Producing power throughout a long season

Creatine does not directly improve hitting mechanics, throwing accuracy, or decision-making. Instead, it can help players perform more high-quality work during explosive training and repeated efforts.

What the research found

A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis examined 14 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies. Short-term creatine supplementation produced a statistically significant improvement in average power during repeated sprint testing. It did not significantly improve peak power or reduce fatigue across every test, showing that the benefit is meaningful but not universal.

A major position stand reviewing the creatine literature concluded that creatine supplementation increases muscular creatine stores and can support high-intensity exercise performance and training adaptations. Creatine monohydrate is the form with the largest supporting body of research.

What this means for baseball

Creatine is not a pre-workout stimulant that must be felt immediately. Its value comes from consistent use and increased muscular creatine availability over time.

A common research-supported approach is 3–5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day. A larger loading phase can increase muscle creatine more quickly, but it is not required to receive benefits over time.

Some athletes experience an initial increase in body mass due partly to increased water stored within muscle. The repeated-sprint meta-analysis reported an average increase of approximately 0.79 kilograms following short-term loading protocols.

Evidence strength: Strong for repeated high-intensity performance, strength training and training adaptation.

03 — COLLAGEN

Support for the Tissues That Handle the Workload

Baseball creates repeated stress through throwing, swinging, sprinting, decelerating, lifting, and changing direction. These movements place substantial demands on tendons, ligaments, joints, and other connective tissues.

Collagen contains high concentrations of amino acids such as glycine and proline, which are used in connective tissue. Collagen supplementation should not be presented as a guaranteed way to prevent elbow, shoulder, knee, or ankle injuries. It is better understood as one possible nutritional tool that may complement progressive loading, adequate protein intake and rehabilitation.

What the research found

A 2021 systematic review evaluated 15 randomized controlled trials involving collagen supplementation and exercise. The most consistent findings involved improvements in joint pain and joint function. Results involving muscle recovery, body composition and strength were more variable, and the authors emphasized that additional research is needed to establish the best protocols.

In a small randomized crossover trial, eight healthy men consumed either a placebo or vitamin C-enriched gelatin before brief exercise. The 15-gram gelatin condition produced a larger increase in a blood marker associated with collagen synthesis. This study demonstrated a biological response, but it did not prove that collagen prevents injuries in baseball players.

Research involving athletes with activity-related knee discomfort has also reported reductions in pain following several weeks of collagen peptide supplementation, although these findings should not be treated as evidence that collagen repairs every type of sports injury.

What this means for baseball

Collagen may be most relevant for players completing a structured tendon, ligament, joint or rehabilitation program.

Research commonly uses approximately 5–15 grams per day, with some protocols consuming collagen or gelatin alongside vitamin C roughly 30–60 minutes before exercise or rehabilitation loading. The ideal dose and timing have not been definitively established.

Collagen is also not a replacement for a complete protein source. Baseball players still need adequate total protein and complete, leucine-rich proteins to support muscle growth and recovery.

Evidence strength: Promising for joint symptoms and collagen synthesis. More limited than creatine research, and not proven to prevent throwing injuries.

THREE INGREDIENTS. THREE DIFFERENT JOBS.

The important distinction

Electrolytes do not build muscle.
Creatine does not replace hydration.
Collagen does not replace complete dietary protein.

Their value comes from addressing three separate areas of athletic preparation.

A RESEARCH-INFORMED ROUTINE

Before training or competition

Begin properly hydrated. Consider electrolytes when conditions are hot, the session is long or the athlete has a high sweat rate.

Every day

Creatine works through consistent intake rather than occasional pregame use.

Before connective-tissue or rehabilitation work

Collagen with a source of vitamin C may be used before tendon, ligament or joint-loading exercises, based on the protocols used in early research.

After training

Prioritize a complete meal containing sufficient protein, carbohydrates, fluids and micronutrients. Supplements should fill a specific need—not compensate for an incomplete recovery routine.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The basics still matter most.

The best supplement routine cannot overcome insufficient sleep, poor nutrition, inadequate hydration, excessive workload or an unstructured training program.

Electrolytes, creatine and collagen stand out because they address three real demands placed on baseball players:

Hydration. Explosive performance. Connective-tissue support.

The evidence is not equally strong for every ingredient, and results will vary between athletes. That is exactly why supplements should be selected based on purpose, research and individual need—not hype.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Nuccio RP, Barnes KA, Carter JM, Baker LB.
Fluid Balance in Team Sport Athletes and the Effect of Hypohydration on Cognitive, Technical, and Physical Performance. Sports Medicine, 2017.

Rowlands DS, Kopetschny BH, Badenhorst CE.
The Hydrating Effects of Hypertonic, Isotonic and Hypotonic Sports Drinks and Waters on Central Hydration During Continuous Exercise. Sports Medicine, 2022.

Ly NQ and colleagues.
Post-Exercise Rehydration in Athletes: Effects of Sodium-Based Beverages Compared With Water. Randomized clinical trial, 2023.

Glaister M, Rhodes L.
Short-Term Creatine Supplementation and Repeated Sprint Ability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2022.

Kreider RB and colleagues.
International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Safety and Efficacy of Creatine Supplementation in Exercise, Sport, and Medicine. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017.

Khatri M and colleagues.
The Effects of Collagen Peptide Supplementation on Body Composition, Collagen Synthesis, and Recovery From Joint Injury and Exercise: A Systematic Review. Amino Acids, 2021.

Shaw G and colleagues.
Vitamin C-Enriched Gelatin Supplementation Before Intermittent Activity Augments Collagen Synthesis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017.