08/25/2026
The bench might be one of the most taken-for-granted places in baseball and here is whyโฆ
Nobody wants to be there.
Every player wants to be in the lineup. You want the at-bats. You want the ball hit to you. You want to be the guy on the mound, the guy coming up with runners in scoring position, the guy your teammates are waiting for at home plate.
But someday, when baseball is over, you might realize the bench gave you something the field never could.
A chance to actually watch the game.
When you're playing, everything moves fast.
You're thinking about the count. The runner. The signs. Your positioning. Your last at-bat. Your next pitch. Whether you need to cover. Where you're throwing if the ball comes to you.
You're inside the game.
But when you're sitting on the bench, for a few innings, you're allowed to see it from the outside.
You notice the pitcher working through an inning.
You hear the conversations between coaches.
You watch hitters make adjustments.
You see how an infielder positions himself differently with two strikes.
You notice the runner taking an extra half-step in his secondary lead.
You hear the chatter.
You hear the cleats on the concrete.
You hear the pop of the glove in the bullpen.
You hear teammates laughing about something that has absolutely nothing to do with baseball.
And for once, the game slows down.
That's the part we don't appreciate enough.
Because baseball isn't going to last forever.
There will eventually be a day when you'd give almost anything to sit on that bench one more time.
To lean against the fence with your teammates.
To smell the dirt and grass.
To hear somebody yell, "Ball in!"
To watch your teammate battle through an eight-pitch at-bat.
To pick up a guy after a strikeout.
To celebrate a run.
To argue about whether the pitch was actually a strike.
To know that at any moment your coach might turn around and say your name.
The bench can feel like the place where you're waiting for baseball to happen to you.
But it's actually one of the few places where you get to completely experience baseball happening around you.
That doesn't mean you should be satisfied with sitting there.
๏ฟผCompete. Work. Earn your opportunity. Want to be on the field.
But don't spend every inning on the bench wishing you were somewhere else.
Look around every once in a while.
Watch the game.
Talk to your teammates.
Learn something.
Laugh.
Take it in.
Because one day, nobody is going to tell you to grab a helmet.
Nobody is going to ask if you're ready to pinch hit.
Nobody is going to yell down the bench looking for someone to warm up.
The game will keep being played.
You just won't be sitting there anymore.
And that's when you'll realize: The bench wasn't time you were losing. It was part of the game you were lucky enough to have. โพ๏ธ