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Comment by nodesocket | Hacker News Reader

Seems like MLB (baseball) players have it even worse. 162 games in 6 months and that’s just the regular season. Games average longer and if extra innings can go 5+ hours and well past midnight.

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The difference is that baseball will often have "stints" in a city, you may play back to back days but you won't be traveling. Whereas in the NBA you might be in Houston one night, LA the next, then to Boston, and Chicago, in the space of a week or less.

Baseball is also a lot less "active" than basketball - they are certainly world class athletes, but for many positions the game is slow, punctuated by quick pushes, whereas if you're on the court in basketball you're working at 100%, 100% of the time.

In baseball, you can just wear sunglasses and take naps in the middle of the game. Especially if you're in the bullpen.

Or the dugout. Ask Darryl Strawberry.

It's also nowhere as physically demanding of a sport as basketball, where you're in constant movement 30+ minutes a game and during practice.

Yeah but try hitting a 100 mph fastball when you're feeling groggy

I'd honestly probably do better than I would normally since I wouldn't have the energy to overthink it lol.

Disagree [0]

> One study found that MLB players' strike-zone judgment was worse in September than in April in 24 of 30 teams. When averaged across all teams, strike-zone judgment was significantly worse in September compared with April. The statistical model demonstrated strong predictive value through the season.

[0] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130531105506.h...

The implication in the article is that the travel schedule/lack of sleep is the central issue, not the intensity of the workout.

You typically stay in the same city for more than a single night in baseball, though. 2-4 game series v. 1 game then out.

Baseball players play series in various cities. They aren't there just for one game. Also, the sport is the least physically demanding of all major US sports. Players spend half their time sitting in dugouts, and about 80% of the rest just standing around waiting for the ball to be near them.

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