Jake Arrieta Strips Down and Shaves for Cover of ESPN's ‘Body Issue'

The Cy Young Award winner told the magazine that under his uniform he’s “extremely hairy,” the Chicago Tribune reports

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta has been chosen as one of the cover athletes for ESPN the Magazine's body issue.

Arrieta is a well-known fitness freak that has lauded the use of Pilates as part of his remarkable comeback story, but there is one thing he had to do to prepare himself for the photoshoot: shave.

The Cy Young Award winner told the magazine that under his uniform he’s “extremely hairy,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

"It pretty much connects from the top of my head to my toes with a nice upper body sweater/track jacket type of thing,” Arrieta said, according to a preview of the issue released to the Tribune. “I'm shaved right now. The chest is good, the back is pretty solidly shaven."

The eighth annual edition of the issue will hit magazine stands July 6, featuring personal photos and interviews from chosen stripped-down athletes such as Arrieta, Chicago Sky’s Elena Delle Donne, MMA star Conor McGregor and NBA veteran Dwyane Wade.

ESPN unveiled Arrieta's cover Friday morning:

“The athletes allow themselves to be completely vulnerable with our audience—not just in the photographs but with their interviews as well,” said the issue’s senior deputy editor and producer Neely Lohmann. “This year we have athletes opening up in raw and moving ways about overcoming physical struggles: everything from asthma to HIV, amputation to transgender transitioning. It’s an honor to tell their stories.”

ESPN the Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Alison Overholt told the Tribune the choice of Arrieta for the cover was “immediate and unanimous,” but even they were stunned with how the images turned out.

“They bring fans inside what it takes to build the bodies that achieve these incredible feats of sport,” ESPN the Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Alison Overholt said. “But they also share, unflinchingly, the mental and emotional journey they’ve each been on to embrace what is different, unique and often imperfect about their own bodies and body stories. It makes even the most elite of these athletes so very relatable, and is something that will continue draw in new fans.”

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