Okay, so the other day I was watching a baseball game with a buddy, and he kept talking about a “rest day” for one of the players. I kinda nodded along, pretending I totally got it, but afterward, I realized I wasn’t 100% sure what that meant in baseball terms. So, I decided to do a little digging.
First, I hit up Google. Just typed in “rest day baseball” to see what would pop up. I scrolled through a bunch of articles and forum posts. It seemed like there were a few different ways to think about it.
What I found Out
- For starting pitchers: It’s those days between starts. Pitchers don’t play every day, because throwing that hard, that many times, is super tough on the arm.
- For everyday players: It’s days when the player starts the day on the bench. Sometime the manager might sub them to play, sometime they just stay on the bench for the whole game.
I checked out a few team schedules online, too. I noticed that most teams have at least one day off a week, sometimes two, built into their schedule. Makes sense, these guys are playing almost every day during the season!
So, basically, a “rest day” in baseball isn’t always a full day off, chilling on the couch. For some, it’s time to recover and prep, while for others, it means maybe playing a few games, while giving the players a breather so they don’t get totally worn out. It’s all about keeping those guys in top shape for the long haul, I guess!
