What is life really like for MLB players on the road? We answer your questions What are the best and worst road cities? How do hotel bookings work? How much swag do players get? Our mailbag gets into it all.

What road trips to players love/hate?
How common are clubhouse fights?
How much free gear do players get?

Answering your questions about the lives of MLB players.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...

What is big-league life actually like? Leave your questions for The Athletic’s MLB mailbag Which players have the strangest superstition? Can everyone tell when a manager loses the clubhouse?

What is big-league life actually like? Leave your questions for The Athletic’s MLB mailbag

www.nytimes.com/athletic/720...

the replies on twitter oh lawd

This statue was too controversial for a Dallas airport. Why did the Texas Rangers give it a home? The One Riot, One Ranger statue features a lawman with a complicated past. The Rangers decided to embrace that.

If you're not willing to talk about why it's there, it probably shouldn't be there.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Hate doing your taxes? Be thankful you don’t have to do an MLB player’s books (Gift Article) Pitcher Jared Hughes tried his taxes his rookie season. “After that,” he later recalled, “I realized it was time to get an accountant.”

It's Tax Day. There's a thing or two you might be interested to learn about MLB players' taxes. Like how Spencer Torkelson's dad had a realization that saved Torkelson three-quarters of a million dollars.

Taxes pile up, so here's a link to read for free:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

oh, please do!

konnor griffin will play here today

He Brought Private Credit to the Masses. Now the Masses Are Fleeing. Stephen Nesbitt’s Cliffwater is racing to calm investors after steep withdrawals.

my name nemesis is in the wall street journal today. brutal for my seo. www.wsj.com/finance/inve...

Episode thumbnail for the Mar. 12th episode of Rates & Barrels featuring Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Shohei Ohtani. Thumbnail Credits: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images (Acuña & Soto), Alex Slitz/Getty Images (Judge), Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images (Ohtani)

🎙️ Rates & Barrels ⚾

Bases loaded edition! @iamtrevormay.bsky.social, @stephenjnesbitt.bsky.social, @enosarris.bsky.social & I reset for the knockout stage with quarterfinal matchup previews and predictions for the rest of the WBC....

Audio: pod.fo/e/3a7aea
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RatesBarrels

My wife and I went there! It was f&?!ing delicious.

This is how I voted.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...

The mobile check-in process for doctor’s appointments has gotten out of hand.

Feel for the Hyundai Elantras who grow up dreaming of being anything other than the quintessential rental car.

The gapper is dead: Who killed the double and triple — and what can MLB do about it? Armed with analytics, teams are playing outfielders deeper than ever, and doubles and triples are vanishing. Can a rule change fix this?

“Imagine there was a curved line in the outfield."

New from me:

The gapper is dead. Doubles hit their lowest rate in 3 decades. Triples are at their lowest rate ever.

So who killed the double & triple? And what can MLB do about it?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

i pay money to walk in here! give me the coups!

i will be showing this tweet to all employees upon entry next time i walk into bj's warehouse

oh

At just 23 years old, Paul Skenes captured the 2025 NL Cy Young Award by unanimous vote.

To understand how Skenes reached the peak of the profession, The Athletic spoke with nine of his current and former catchers, covering every level from youth ball to the big leagues.

Paul Skenes’ evolution into a Cy Young winner, in 14 steps.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

Luke turns 5 today. He pulled a Shohei Ohtani card and two Roki Sasakis in a Topps pack at breakfast, but he was most thrilled to get a Blue Jay. He picked them as his favorite team earlier this month. He'll grow up looking at this card and knowing Steward Berroa as a Blue Jays legend of his youth.

Great question. To your point, I think, yes, admitting that my son is no longer 4T and putting those clothes in the attic *has* been more emotional for me than any previous size. It's all happening so fast, and he's perfect, and the Ts are piling up.

a ridiculous ranking by unserious people

Don't mess with D'Artagnan!

the script writers are nailing this season of world series baseball

crazy to see d'artagnan chucking 99 mph

I'd like to set a jinx in motion by saying the Blue Jays winning tonight would make for a maximally fun series. The Jays would have two shots to clinch on home turf, while the Death Star Dodgers would have Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 6, and all hands on deck in Game 7.

according to Statcast, most games are over by now

is john smoltz advocating for ... more home-plate collisions?

not i