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NLCS: How the Phillies Decided to Travel Home Early


PHILADELPHIA – Less science, more Schwarber.

It’s not a guaranteed prescription for success, but it does appear to be a path Philadelphia could take to win its eighth National League pennant.

When Manager Rob Thomson said before the team left San Diego last week that “science tells you you should stay” but road-weary Phillies players decided they preferred to fly home after the game. 2 on a Wednesday afternoon than sleeping another night in Southern California, it’s not a random reference.

The Phillies are one of five major clubs in the league that consulted with Dr Chris Winter, a neurologist and sleep specialist who has worked with Major League Baseball since 2006. San Francisco Giants used his advice to tweak their October itinerary while winning three World Series rings over a five-year period from 2010-2014.

Current clubs using Winter’s expertise include both teams in this National Championship Series, the Phillies and the Padres. The others are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Guardians and Boston Red Sox.

The “sleep science” Thomson referred to advised the Phillies that, based on direction and game time, the smartest way to play is to continue after Wednesday’s game.

But because the team had been on 22nd Street for 24 days, when the players learned they would be playing Wednesday afternoon instead of that night, veterans spoke and Bryce Harper reached out to Dave Dombrowski, executive chairman. club baseball and lobbying. go home earlier.

“That’s what the studies tell you, and I get it,” Dombrowski says of sleep science. “But I think sometimes you just have to do with what you think is best with your ball club in that respect.”

He noted that the Padres will also be moving after Wednesday’s game so there will be no advantage at all.

“Our boys have been away for so long so I think it’s understandable to drive home and stay there,” said Dombrowski, who noted that he also spoke with player representative Rhys Hoskins.

Kyle Schwarber marked the end of this coming Friday night by taking the first-round lead home at the end of the first inning. His second hit in three games energized both his team and the 45,279 sell-out crowd at Citizens Bank Park.

It happened after the team landed in Philadelphia around 4 a.m. Thursday and Schwarber took a nap, headed to the park for a treat and then enjoyed a fun, laid-back dinner.

“We’ve been on the road for a while,” Schwarber said. “But I think if you told us we were going to be in this position, we would be happy to be on that path for the long term.”

Building itineraries, especially in October, is more than simply comfortable charter flights and food on the shelves. Especially when so much remains unknown until the last minute and players and staff have to adjust as circumstances change.

The Phillies this fall had their share of fluency. They had been scheduled to fly home after a game in the afternoon series in Atlanta on October 12. But during the three-hour rainy day, Dombrowski met with the players and they decided to switch. direction, staying in Atlanta that night and flying the next day instead.

The difference between that night and last week in San Diego, quarterback Nick Castellanos said, was the geography and the length of the flight.

“The locations we’re in are in six hours from San Diego, it’s much more limited and limited,” Castellanos said. “Normally, after six hours at such a height, your body needs a period of adjustment to relax again. I feel like, for me, from a performance standpoint, I’d like to be able to get in and have a day at least stretch out and get used to and basically wash down that cross-country flight on an airplane. regular subscribers. “

In a phone interview in Game 3, Winter said that regardless of his expert advice, he certainly understands a team that has been on the road so often in recent weeks when the Phillies want to go home. And despite the science, he said, that could also be beneficial.

“This is where players have taught me for years about not sleeping in your own bed,” said Winter, who is based in Charlottesville, Va., and hosts a podcast called “Sleep Unplugged.” “A 5-foot-8-tall sleep doctor can say one thing, but a player’s beliefs greatly influence that. To me, science is one of the metrics an organization can use, such as ‘do we go with a left- or right-handed person?’

“It’s a piece of information that smart managers and GM can manage with a lot of data and then they make the call.”

A complicating factor – but welcome – in October is the tour group that also includes the players’ families. Phillies is using two chartered aircraft, one for the team, the other for office and home staff.

When asked what the hardest part of packing was, pitcher Kyle Gibson said, “That’s probably a better question for wives and moms with kids. We were on an 18-day trip and I barely had more than a suitcase. But for mothers, they have to pack air mattresses, warm clothes, and cold clothes. I would say that the change of weather is probably the biggest thing. As for me, I’m pretty basic. Give me some jeans and some shirts to wear to the field and I’ll be good.”

In Philadelphia on Friday, Gibson said they felt as if the team hadn’t seen their home forever.

“Fire away, the house smells a bit like it’s been closed for three weeks,” he said. “Being there is certainly a welcome sight. We knew the fans would get excited, we knew we played really good baseball and they realized it. And we knew it was going to be an interesting atmosphere. “

Of course, time traveling together can act as a bonding agent.

“Twenty consecutive days on the road and home in a flash and right back on the road,” says Hoskins. “Yes, we were together 14 hours a day – 12, 14 hours a day for seven months straight. And then you combine that and kind of take a lot of families out when we’re on the road, we have to spend time together.

“But that’s a good thing. That’s where the talked-about chemistry is built. That is where trust is built. When you can trust the guy next to you on the field or behind you in a formation, it makes the dips last a little longer and the highs a little longer. But there’s nothing like playing at home.”

Apparently, planes, buses and hotels didn’t slow down the Phillies. And who knows, the extra wild card playoffs could make extended trips a problem. When Tampa Bay opened in Cleveland two weeks ago, the Rays ended their season on a nine-game trip before visiting the Guardians.

When someone asked Terry Francona if he thought it would give his team an advantage, he didn’t hesitate.

Francona said: “If they don’t wear underwear, then yes. “No one wants to wear underwear.”

Phillies understands.

“That and the socks,” said Schwarber.

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