BRADENTON, Fla. — There are two goals Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco wants to reach this season.

“I just want to stay healthy and play every day,” he said.

Polanco, who said he has dropped about 15 pounds since last season, already has taken strict steps toward reaching the first of those goals.

“I put more focus on my training, my workouts,” said Polanco, who missed 40 games last season while enduring three stints on the disabled list. “I worked out for my legs, low back, core, shoulders.

“My nutrition. I changed my diet. No fried foods. I feel great.”

The second goal, playing every day, might be more difficult. It's not done much in the major leagues these days.

Five players did it last year, and all were infielders. Only two outfielders — George Springer of the Houston Astros (2016) and Hunter Pence of the San Francisco Giants (2014) — have done it in the past four years.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said it's a byproduct of how dramatically the game has changed.

“You don't see anything you used to see 30-40 years ago,” he said. “The demands of the game are different, the specialized pitching they have to face. The travel that we go through, the different game times, time zones. There is more emphasis on recovery. That 162 number is going to be hard to reach.

“(Cal) Ripken's streak (2,632 consecutive games played), that's more than safe. You can bottle that one up and put it away.”

No Pirates player has played in every game since Bill Mazeroski set a club record in 1967 (163, including 13 doubleheaders). One 14-inning game was rained out.

Former Pirates pitcher and current broadcaster Steve Blass, a teammate, said Mazeroski was a different breed of player.

“He was one of those guys you didn't have to talk about or worry about,” Blass said. “Maz was there, so it was going to be all right.”

Bobby Bonilla tied Mazeroski in 1989, missing one game, but reaching 163 thanks to two rainouts. He played third base almost exclusively that season, committing 35 errors.

“I remember hearing about Bobby Bo,” Blass said. “(But) it wasn't a headline when Maz played. The world has changed.”

Mazeroski played in 162 games in 1964 and '66 (when he committed only eight errors). But he was one of 19 players to do it in '64 and 12 in '66.

Former Pirates shortstop Dick Groat played in at least 151 games seven times in his 14-year career. When he was contacted Friday to talk about it, Groat wondered why it was even an issue.

“You're making a big deal out of something that isn't,” he said. “It's not hard (to play 162 games). That's why we got paid.”

Groat came within one game of playing them all in 1962 and '64. In 1963, the year he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, he suffered a broken rib when the Pirates' Don Cardwell hit him with a pitch. Groat missed three games.

“We got mad if we weren't in the lineup,” he said. “Nobody wanted a day off. We had a saying, ‘Don't get out of the lineup. You might not get back in.'

“It was a different world. Today, players look at it differently.”

Playing in 162 is more of a mindset for Polanco. He said last season was frustrating.

“I got all this talent, and I can't play,” he said. “That's something that I (went) through in my mind. I want to play. I can't play. It's hard for me. What do I have to do to stay on the field longer?

“But this is a new year. I don't want to remember nothing (from last season). I'm healthy. I'm strong. I'm happy and I'm excited for the season.”

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.

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