Do baseball players need all these days off?

[Paluka]

One thing fantasy has really made me notice is the random days off that so many players seem to take. Guys have great years and making a lot of money just not being in the lineup for 10% of the games. Is this just some old school baseball thing "the guy needed a day off" or is there some reason for this? Today in the Arizona/Philly game I had Burrell/Tracy/Byrnes all sit out and every one of them is young and healthy.

[Schwartzy61]

It's a long season. Every day off a guy can get will help keep them fresh and playing their best at the end of the year.

Many times managers like to give guys days off when the play a day game the day after a night game to reduce the stress on a player's body. Most of the time it is OF and middle infielders who have to do the most work defensively that get some time off.

[MuresanForMVP]

playing games day after day, with little to no rest kills your body. The longest season that I've played (I'm 20) to date was about 60 games, and sometimes it just felt like my body was falling apart, I can only imagine the grind of a 162 game season.

[MrFeelNothin]

I feel like a lot of the older players are taking more days off this year. Possibly because of amphetamine testing?

[prohornblower]

First of all most people don't take 10% of the games off. That's 16 games a year. If anyone is doing that it is 40+ position players or older catchers. Most off days are on Sunday road games or day games after a night game the previous night.

And to be blunt, yes, they need a day off now and then. Most MLB schedules have teams playing 6 or 7 games a week for a 6 month stretch. Players usually arrive at the ballpark around 3pm, and don't leave the premeses until 11pm. They "put in", or are "indisposed" at least, for much longer than the everage American worker.

Also, contrary to popular belief, baseball IS a rough sport. Players get very sore and beat up throughout the course of the season.

[prohornblower]

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I feel like a lot of the older players are taking more days off this year. Possibly because of amphetamine testing?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it has more to do with the fact that there seem to be more older players now than ever before. Of the top of my head...Bonds, Clemens, Biggio, Finley, Franco, etc. All these guys are over 40 and are a fairly major factor on their respective team. (Not so fast Julio...) [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] That's just off the top of my head. I know there are probably a handful of others who are over 40.

But yeah, I think it's just more noticeable lately because there are so many of them. And the fact that they are getting extra days off is also partially why they are being able to perform at a high level into their 40's.

[MrFeelNothin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I feel like a lot of the older players are taking more days off this year. Possibly because of amphetamine testing?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it has more to do with the fact that there seem to be more older players now than ever before. Of the top of my head...Bonds, Clemens, Biggio, Finley, Franco, etc. All these guys are over 40 and are a fairly major factor on their respective team. (Not so fast Julio...) [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] That's just off the top of my head. I know there are probably a handful of others who are over 40.

But yeah, I think it's just more noticeable lately because there are so many of them. And the fact that they are getting extra days off is also partially why they are being able to perform at a high level into their 40's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Part of the reason there are more players playing at a high level into their 40s may be steroids and their career-lengthening effects.

[prohornblower]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I feel like a lot of the older players are taking more days off this year. Possibly because of amphetamine testing?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it has more to do with the fact that there seem to be more older players now than ever before. Of the top of my head...Bonds, Clemens, Biggio, Finley, Franco, etc. All these guys are over 40 and are a fairly major factor on their respective team. (Not so fast Julio...) [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] That's just off the top of my head. I know there are probably a handful of others who are over 40.

But yeah, I think it's just more noticeable lately because there are so many of them. And the fact that they are getting extra days off is also partially why they are being able to perform at a high level into their 40's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Part of the reason there are more players playing at a high level into their 40s may be steroids and their career-lengthening effects.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure. As does getting off days. As does the fact that a lot of players eat healthier and excercise smarter than in days of yore.

In 30 years, we'll see people consistently playing into their 40's, regardless of whether or not they are using the future equivalent of steroids today.

[youtalkfunny]

I'm sure the people who complain the most about the lazy ballplayers taking days off...

...would howl the loudest if their boss asked them to work a Saturday.

[MEbenhoe]

I can only imagine how hard a 162 game season is on the body. My main experience competitively comes in track and field, and speaking from that perspective in track as a team we generally had 1 meet per week, and even then people were given meets off. Meets off were given for different reasons, whether it be to help heal an injury, just to give rest, or to aid in peaking for the championship season, but what I get from it is that if meets off are needed with just 1 meet per week, during a 162 game season, bodies will wear down, injuries are going to happen, and games off are going to be needed. Because the luck, endurance, athleticism, and preparedness to last through a 162 game season without a day off must be enormous.