The pursuit of 162: Why MLB players appearing in every game is trending up

There's a probably apocryphal story about Rafael Devers and his love of chewing tobacco that floats harmlessly around the baseball world like a leaf in the breeze.

It's the type of old wives' tale that's certainly bogus, yet it lives on and spreads because it's comical, instructive and spiritually true. Before each season, the fable goes, Devers sends the league office a check for $40,500. Per MLB rules, the fine for failing to "conceal tobacco products" is $250. Most players, of course, will send the requisite fine only after being sanctioned. Not Devers. He multiplies that $250 by 162 and pays his punishment up front.

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Funnily enough, Devers has never actually played in 162 games, despite having the fifth-most games played since the start of 2019. He would have last season, had he not been traded from Boston to San Francisco during the summer. Instead, Devers ended the year with 163 games played, a little bit of extra credit for his troubles.

This season, the swaggering slugger was on pace to finish with 162 games until Wednesday, when a rare off-day to rest his legs snapped a 309-game streak.

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But even with Devers' race to 162 done and dusted, there's still an uncharacteristically large number of players chasing that prize in 2026. As of Sept. 9, four players have started every one of their clubs' games: Atlanta's Matt Olson, Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero, Baltimore's Pete Alonso and Philadelphia's Bryce Harper. Another four — Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong, Pittsburgh's Bryan Reynolds, Cincinnati's Sal Stewart and Atlanta's Ozzie Albies — have appeared in every game.

That's eight players on pace to finish the year with 162 games played, which would be the highest tally since 2005. Since the move to a 162-game season in 1961, there have been just four seasons (1962, 1964, 1974, 1980) in which more players appeared in 162 games.

2026 is on pace to have the most players appear in 162 games since the 2005 season.

It's a fascinating trend, one seemingly at odds with the contemporary discourse about load management. Only four hoopers, for instance, started all 82 games during the most recent NBA season. But any baseball old heads, the ones starting sentences with "back in my day" and griping about the softness of the modern position player, are not standing on factual ground. Off-days have always been part of the sport. Today's game is not, in fact, poisoned with an over-abundance of entitled lollygaggers looking to do the least. This season's eight ironmen are a testament to that.

As they say in baseball, the best ability is availability. Matt Olson and his fellow 162ers are proving that to be true.Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports

Any conversation about baseball durability in 2026 has to begin with Olson. Atlanta's first baseman has not missed a game since May 1, 2021. His 921-game streak ranks eighth on the all-time list and second in the 21st century. And since the Braves acquired him ahead of the 2022 season, Olson, remarkably, has never served as Atlanta's designated hitter. That's 793 straight starts at first base.

Alonso, long a division-mate of Olson's, is carrying an impressive streak of his own. His last off-day came on June 18, 2023. If he finishes 2026 playing in all 162, Alonso will move into the top 25 all time for consecutive games played. 

Harper, for his myriad accomplishments, has never played 162 games in a season. His quest toward that goal was complicated at the deadline, when the Phillies acquired second baseman Luis Arraez, sparking a defensive reshuffling. Since the trade, Harper has started 28 of 32 games in right field, with zero starts at his new/old home at first base. Eleven DH days have definitely helped matters.

Caminero isn't exactly a Gold Glove defender, but he's on pace to be the first American League third baseman since Cal Ripken to start 162 games at the hot corner. Still just 23 years old, Caminero would be the youngest player since Manny Machado in 2015 to not miss a start. That availability is an underrated but notable piece of Caminero's AL MVP candidacy.

Of the four players to appear in but not start every game, two stand out: Crow-Armstrong and Stewart. PCA would be the first primary center fielder since Matt Kemp in 2010 to appear in every game. He could also be the first MVP to pull off the feat since Jimmy Rollins in 2007. Stewart's consistency — he has been left out of the lineup just once all year and pinch-hit in that game — is incredible considering he's a rookie. The Reds' slugger could become the first rookie since Delmon Young in 2007 to play in all 162.

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Beyond this avalanche of fun facts is the obvious question: What's behind this uptick? Why are so many players playing more baseball games? Folks around the game have expressed a number of theories.

For one, it's no coincidence that a large percentage of the 162ers — four of eight, if you count Harper — are first basemen. That's not to diminish the difficulty of the role, but first basemen are spending significantly less time diving, sprinting and throwing their bodies around than any other defensive position.

Secondly, Braves skipper Walt Weiss posited that more fluidity around the designated hitter spot has enabled managers to get position players off their feet more often. Few teams are carrying a no-doubt every-day guy at DH; the Ohtanis, Schwarbers and Yordans of the world are the outliers.

Olson, when asked, pointed toward advances in recovery, sports medicine and overall readiness. He wasn't the only one. Of all the people asked about the increase in 162ers, most referenced this space. Teams are better than ever about educating players about healthy habits. In turn, players are taking much better care of themselves than they did in the past. Alcohol consumption has seen a sharp decline in MLB clubhouses. Guys rarely spend late nights galavanting about town. That means more sleep, better sleep and fewer soft-tissue injuries. 

Around the sport, not taking days off has always been a point of pride, an accomplishment worth celebrating. Cal Ripken Jr. built a legend and a legacy on simply showing up to work every day. The best ability, it is often said, is availability. 

Today's players are proving that sentiment is still true.

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