Jet Lag a Legitimate Excuse for Poor Play?

[Vanimal46]

A new study from Northwestern University was released to study the effects of body clock adjustments on human performance. They analyzed 20 years of MLB baseball data to see if jet lag could be a legitimate cause for poor performance on the baseball field. 

Results of the new study generally showed that traveling eastward was more disruptive than going west, a known feature of jet lag. A surprise, though, was that home teams seemed to suffer its effects more than visiting teams did.

Some of the findings can be found here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/caught-napping-mlb-hitting-pitching-sapped-jet-lag-article-1.2953785

 

What do you think? Just a coincidence? Or legitimate? 

[Brock Beauchamp]

It makes sense, as flying east is brutal on my body.

 

Given how MLB players often fly overnight and then play the next evening, it has to have some effect on them.

 

I'd be curious to see it broken down even more granularly... Is it harder for players to fly in August than May?

[Squirrel]

I'm sort of surprised it's not even. Flying west isn't exactly a trip either when your clock is 3 hrs ahead of time. For a game that starts at 7 and you feel like it's 10, after flying across country, etc. Ugh.

 

I am a horrible traveler when it comes to jet lag. I have a terrible time adjusting even for 1 hour of difference. I'm sure it's an individual thing, but if I had to switch zones as much as players do going back and forth throughout the season, yuck. I would be less than my best most of the time.

[biggentleben]

Gamblers in the NFL have known this for a long time, which is why the phrase "west coast team traveling east" is so oft-repeated in NFL preview shows. It often skews what would be the normal behavior of teams on a neutral field otherwise. Especially so if it's for an early game on Sunday.

[Squirrel]

Gamblers in the NFL have known this for a long time, which is why the phrase "west coast team traveling east" is so oft-repeated in NFL preview shows. It often skews what would be the normal behavior of teams on a neutral field otherwise. Especially so if it's for an early game on Sunday.

The difference is that with football, they can fly out mid-week for a game on Sunday (typically). They aren't flying out Thursday evening for a game on Friday.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I'm sort of surprised it's not even. Flying west isn't exactly a trip either when your clock is 3 hrs ahead of time. For a game that starts at 7 and you feel like it's 10, after flying across country, etc. Ugh.

I'm sure it has the same physical toll on your body but flying west literally buys you time while east takes it away.

 

Think of it this way. What would you rather do:

 

1. Hop on plane at midnight and land at your destination around 1am, arriving at your hotel by 2am.

 

2. Hope on a plan at midnight and land at your destination at 7am, arriving at your hotel by 8am.

 

One gets you something approaching a full night of sleep in a bed. The other forces you to sleep on a plane.

 

When I fly to Europe, I'm completely screwed up when I land on the continent. I have no idea what time it is, I'm exhausted, and I've lost something approaching half a day. It's usually the wee hours of the morning and I've barely slept. I lost the entire night.

 

When I fly home, I'm exhausted and I land in Minneapolis just 2-3 hours after I left Europe. That gives me a full 6-8 hours to get home, sleep, and then get back at the day. I'm still out of sorts but at least I've slept off my exhaustion.

[Squirrel]

 

I'm sure it has the same physical toll on your body but flying west literally buys you time while east takes it away.

 

Think of it this way. What would you rather do:

 

1. Hop on plane at midnight and land at your destination around 1am, arriving at your hotel by 2am.

 

2. Hope on a plan at midnight and land at your destination at 7am, arriving at your hotel by 8am.

 

One gets you something approaching a full night of sleep in a bed. The other forces you to sleep on a plane.

 

When I fly to Europe, I'm completely screwed up when I land on the continent. I have no idea what time it is, I'm exhausted, and I've lost something approaching half a day.

 

When I fly home, I'm just exhausted and I land in Minneapolis just 2-3 hours after I left Europe. That gives me a full 6-8 hours to get home, sleep, and then get back at the day.

Oh, I know, I get the logic ... but I get screwed up either way. When I travel to Europe for work, I don't even try anymore to get myself 'right.' I get to the rehearsals in the morning, nap in the afternoon, get back to the hall for the concert in the evening, try to go to bed after a post-concert drink, wake up at 3-4 in the morning ... rinse, wash, repeat. I'm always exhausted and off my game, but as long as I am where I'm supposed to be when I'm supposed to be doing my job to the best I can, that's all I can do. But I know that the work I bring along with me to do while the concert is ongoing ... isn't at the highest standard, and I miss things, and I don't work as quickly or as efficiently. And people think touring is so glamourous and all those places I get to see! Heh, it's a wonder I see anything outside the concert halls and hotels. At the beginning of tours I really try to stay awake all day, see some stuff, do my work, but halfway in, I give up. Some of my colleagues take various substances to help them get through, some their clocks and bodies quickly and easily adjust. It's just an individual thing, but I would hate the rigors of a baseball player flying coast to coast. I couldn't do it well and I'm sure there are some that really don't. It would be an interesting study to follow two players of equal levels around for the season, maybe even teammates ... choose one that adjusts well to time zone travel and one that doesn't ... and track how they play day to day and see what difference there is.

[spinowner]

This is one of the reasons that an unbalanced schedule is not as unfair as it might seem. If all teams were in the same time zone more interdivisional play a balanced schedule would probably be more fair. But since a balanced schedule would require a lot more E-W travel the east coast and especially the west coast teams would be even more disadvantaged. Plus more potential for travel disruption due to weather, etc.

An interesting (to me, at least) thought: what about league realignment once the DH becomes an MLB-wide rule? The 15 easternmost teams would be in one league and the 15 westernmost teams in the other. I can already picture steam coming out of the ears of the traditionalists, but it would improve the travel situation for almost everyone and it might make for an overall improvement in the level of play.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

An interesting (to me, at least) thought: what about league realignment once the DH becomes an MLB-wide rule?

It's not a terrible idea but you'd be hard-pressed to convince any of the Cubs/Cardinals, Giants/Dodgers, or Yankees/BoSox rivalries to dilute themselves in any fashion.

 

And while most rivalries are regional, combining the NL and AL would result in some of those rivalries being diluted in one fashion or another, as some of the teams would be forced to split either division, league, or both.

[d-mac]

 

I'm sure it has the same physical toll on your body but flying west literally buys you time while east takes it away.

 

Think of it this way. What would you rather do:

 

1. Hop on plane at midnight and land at your destination around 1am, arriving at your hotel by 2am.

 

2. Hope on a plan at midnight and land at your destination at 7am, arriving at your hotel by 8am.

 

One gets you something approaching a full night of sleep in a bed. The other forces you to sleep on a plane.

 

When I fly to Europe, I'm completely screwed up when I land on the continent. I have no idea what time it is, I'm exhausted, and I've lost something approaching half a day. It's usually the wee hours of the morning and I've barely slept. I lost the entire night.

 

When I fly home, I'm exhausted and I land in Minneapolis just 2-3 hours after I left Europe. That gives me a full 6-8 hours to get home, sleep, and then get back at the day. I'm still out of sorts but at least I've slept off my exhaustion.

 

I've been to Australia and New Zealand a couple of times, it's even more pronounced crossing the Pacific. Coming home (going east) is always the hardest and it takes days to adjust back. But traveling there is not nearly as hard. It only takes a full day to adjust. Sleep on the plane, which is always difficult, but by landing in the morning and loading up on caffeine you can force your body to stay awake until 9-10pm and then sleep till 7am and bingo! You're adjusted to local time.  

[Vanimal46]

I was never able to fall asleep on planes or buses, so traveling east to west, north to south, vice versa on a long road trip would drive me mad. 

[Squirrel]

 

I've been to Australia and New Zealand a couple of times, it's even more pronounced crossing the Pacific. Coming home (going east) is always the hardest and it takes days to adjust back. But traveling there is not nearly as hard. It only takes a full day to adjust. Sleep on the plane, which is always difficult, but by landing in the morning and loading up on caffeine you can force your body to stay awake until 9-10pm and then sleep till 7am and bingo! You're adjusted to local time.  

I've traveled to Australia/New Zealand and Japan. I was able to adjust much more quickly than I ever do when traveling inside the U.S. or to Europe. It makes me wonder if the greater the time zone difference, the easier it is to adjust? Coming home from those places was much easier for me ... don't know why, but it was. I basically arrived home a couple hours later than when I left. I might have found myself getting tired earlier in the evening or up a little earlier in the morning, but nothing like waking up at 2am unable to sleep which is always the case for me to/from Europe. Then again, it could be an age thing, too ... the older I get, the harder it gets.

[Squirrel]

 

 

It's not a terrible idea but you'd be hard-pressed to convince any of the Cubs/Cardinals, Giants/Dodgers, or Yankees/BoSox rivalries to dilute themselves in any fashion.

 

And while most rivalries are regional, combining the NL and AL would result in some of those rivalries being diluted in one fashion or another, as some of the teams would be forced to split either division, league, or both.

Spin and I have had this discussion before ... and have even 'mapped out' what we think the alignments should be. In most cases, it kept the rivalries in tact because those rivalries already have a regional closeness and could easily be grouped in the same divisions. However ... it's the NL/AL thing that would not work for many. I could not imagine what would happen, for instance, if the Cubs were moved from the NL. But with a DH no longer being a thing (assuming that's the predication for re-alignment), it would seem that staying in one league or the other would be in name/tradition only. Not sure it would be fair to ask them to get over it, but maybe it would.

[d-mac]

 

I've traveled to Australia/New Zealand and Japan. I was able to adjust much more quickly than I ever do when traveling inside the U.S. or to Europe. It makes me wonder if the greater the time zone difference, the easier it is to adjust? Coming home from those places was much easier for me ... don't know why, but it was. I basically arrived home a couple hours later than when I left. I might have found myself getting tired earlier in the evening or up a little earlier in the morning, but nothing like waking up at 2am unable to sleep which is always the case for me to/from Europe. Then again, it could be an age thing, too ... the older I get, the harder it gets.

 

That's a good question. I'm not sure. Right now in the Central US timezone it's noon. It's 7am in Auckland, 5am in Sydney, 3am in Tokyo, 6pm in London, and 7pm in Rome. 

[spinowner]

 

That's a good question. I'm not sure. Right now in the Central US timezone it's noon. It's 7am in Auckland, 5am in Sydney, 3am in Tokyo, 6pm in London, and 7pm in Rome. 

I was just going to say that there's only 3 hours of difference between California and New Zealand at this time of year. (It's actually 21 hours but let's not quibble.)

[spinowner]

 

Spin and I have had this discussion before ... and have even 'mapped out' what we think the alignments should be. In most cases, it kept the rivalries in tact because those rivalries already have a regional closeness and could easily be grouped in the same divisions. However ... it's the NL/AL thing that would not work for many. I could not imagine what would happen, for instance, if the Cubs were moved from the NL. But with a DH no longer being a thing (assuming that's the predication for re-alignment), it would seem that staying in one league or the other would be in name/tradition only. Not sure it would be fair to ask them to get over it, but maybe it would.

Yep. Almost all rivalries could be maintained and new ones could emerge. Just look at the annual interleague rivalry series and make those interdivisional.

[D. Hocking]

I know I have a harder time with the game threads when the games are on the west coast (unless it is a really stellar game thread), so I think it is definitely a factor.

 

It probably does not help when the arrive at the destination city in the early morning hours, having even less time to adjust or get some quality sleep.

[spinowner]

 

Spin and I have had this discussion before ... and have even 'mapped out' what we think the alignments should be.

Just to waste a bit more time, brain energy and space:

 

East 1:

Bos

NYY

NYM

Phi

Pit

 

East 2:

Bal

Was

Atl

TB

Mia

 

East 3:

Tor

Cle

Cin

Det

Mil

 

West 1:

CWS

ChC

Min

Col

Sea

 

West 2:

StL

KC

Hou

Tex

Ari

 

West 3:

SF

Oak

LAD

LAA

SD

 

Keep in mind this is all waaaay hypothetical. But the only real geographic disconnect would be Milwaukee in the East, which would be necessary to keep the two Chicago teams in the same division. And West 1 would be a bit spread out, but it's a consequence of the other two West divisions being more logical.

 

My unscientific prediction is that the rivalries in this alignment would evolve to be stronger than the ones in the current alignment. And we'd still get to hate the Whities 19 times a year.

[Squirrel]

 

Just to waste a bit more time, brain energy and space:

 

East 1:

Bos

NYY

NYM

Phi

Pit

 

East 2:

Bal

Was

Atl

TB

Mia

 

East 3:

Tor

Cle

Cin

Det

Mil

 

West 1:

CWS

ChC

Min

Col

Sea

 

West 2:

StL

KC

Hou

Tex

Ari

 

West 3:

SF

Oak

LAD

LAA

SD

 

Keep in mind this is all waaaay hypothetical. But the only real geographic disconnect would be Milwaukee in the East, which would be necessary to keep the two Chicago teams in the same division. And West 1 would be a bit spread out, but it's a consequence of the other two West divisions being more logical.

 

My unscientific prediction is that the rivalries in this alignment would evolve to be stronger than the ones in the current alignment. And we'd still get to hate the Whities 19 times a year.

Yeah, I'd change Milwaukee and White Sox. I think it would be a bad idea to have two teams that reside in the same city in the same division.

 

But even so ... the problem still remains. With no difference dividing the leagues (assume the DH rule is the same all over), in this case East and West as you've mapped them out, there'd probably be more inter-league play and you'd still have the issue of east and west coast teams playing one another, unless you changed the rules and had no inter-league play and the only time 'east' meets 'west' is in the WS.

[spinowner]

 

I think it would be a bad idea to have two teams that reside in the same city in the same division.

I don't.

[spinowner]

 

Yeah, I'd change Milwaukee and White Sox. I think it would be a bad idea to have two teams that reside in the same city in the same division.

 

But even so ... the problem still remains. With no difference dividing the leagues (assume the DH rule is the same all over), in this case East and West as you've mapped them out, there'd probably be more inter-league play and you'd still have the issue of east and west coast teams playing one another, unless you changed the rules and had no inter-league play and the only time 'east' meets 'west' is in the WS.

The assumption I would make is for it to be similar to the current arrangement. Each division in the east would play one division in the west and vice versa, probably 20 games. The matchups would rotate on a 3-year cycle.

[Squirrel]

 

I don't.

Well ... that aside, and I think it would be a disaster based on my experience of the two teams and their fans by living in the middle of them ... back to the topic ... how would re-alignment alter the time zone issue, unless you kept east from west until the WS?

[Squirrel]

 

The assumption I would make is for it to be similar to the current arrangement. Each division in the east would play one division in the west and vice versa, probably 20 games. The matchups would rotate on a 3-year cycle.

Okay, but then you still have the time zone change issue, it's just different.

[spinowner]

 

Okay, but then you still have the time zone change issue, it's just different.

There would be much less travel across time zones overall. There would more in the West division than the East, obviously, since all East teams except Milwaukee would be in the Eastern Time Zone. The only 3-zone trips would be during the small amount of interleague play.

[d-mac]

 

I was just going to say that there's only 3 hours of difference between California and New Zealand at this time of year. (It's actually 21 hours but let's not quibble.)

 

Yeah, but most of us don't live in CA. It's a five hour difference from Minnesota and 6 hour diff from here to London. 

[Mike Sixel]

You guys could write for FGs....

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/new-study-finds-link-between-jet-lag-performance/

 

[Sarah]

I guess that explains why the Mariners have never won anything. 

 

Seriously though, I agree with this - I've noticed several times my jet lag is worse when I travel eastward.