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The Milwaukee Brewers are set to enter the World Series with a full seven days of rest, one of the longest breaks between clinching a league championship and starting the Fall Classic. While managers and executives typically tout the benefits of rest, the age-old debate of rest versus rust looms large, especially with the American League Championship Series possibly extending to Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The Tampa Bay Rays hold a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, with Game 6 scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19. The eventual AL champion will have at most three days of rest before the World Series begins on Friday, Oct. 23. This discrepancy raises the question: which is more advantageous—ample rest or continued momentum from playing?
Since Major League Baseball's realignment in 1994, teams entering the World Series with more rest have compiled a 15-15 record. However, a peculiar pattern emerges within those numbers. From 2009 onward, the team with fewer days of rest—which would be the AL champion in this scenario—has gone 12-4 in the World Series, with the 2022 Fall Classic featuring teams with equal rest. Notably, the less-rested teams' success was concentrated early in that span, winning nine consecutive World Series from 2009 to 2017. In the years since, the more-rested team—like the Brewers in this case—has gone 4-3.
Of course, not all off-day disparities are equal. The Brewers' seven days of rest are the most for any World Series participant since the 2007 Colorado Rockies, who had eight days off. That Rockies team was swept by the Boston Red Sox in four games. Before that, the 1984 Detroit Tigers had eight days of rest and defeated the San Diego Padres in five games. Since 1995, teams with six or more days of rest are 3-3 in the World Series, with the 2019 Washington Nationals being the last such team; they won in seven games over the Houston Astros. Teams with five or more days of rest are 8-7 since realignment, including last year's champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Key Analysis
When examining significant rest advantages, the data remains inconclusive. A team with at least three more days of rest than its opponent is 6-5 since 1995. Last year's Dodgers had three extra days and won in seven games over the Toronto Blue Jays, while the previous Dodgers team had one fewer day than the New York Yankees and won in five. The 2019 Nationals are the last team to have as many as four extra days of rest. Before that, the 2012 San Francisco Giants had just one day of rest against a Tigers team with five days off, yet the Giants swept the series. Among World Series that ended in four or five games—a reasonable measure of a blowout—the more-rested team went 7-7. Ultimately, if there is any benefit to resting or continuing to play, it does not manifest in World Series outcomes. The team with more rest holds neither a clear advantage nor disadvantage.
Originally reported by yahoo.