So you are headed to the ballpark and are wondering how long does a baseball game last. While baseball can be fun and exciting and here at sportswarrior365 we believe baseball is one amazing sport to play, coach or watch, we understand that the game, especially a 9 inning Major League Baseball, game can seem like an eternity for those that might not love baseball at the same level as us.
While the excitement of a tie game after nine innings might not sit well with some people and only make the experience longer, those of us baseball purists love the intricacies of the game.
However, we are major proponents of finding ways to make a game go faster, while keeping the level of entertainment high.
So, How Long Does A Baseball Game Last?
The average Major League Baseball game, which lasts at least 9 innings, takes an average of 3 hours and 5 minute. Despite attempts being made to cut down the total time, MLB has been unsuccessful in making this happen. It is also the only major sport that does not have a clock involved. 3 Outs must be recorded in each half of every inning, which requires 54 outs to be made unless the home team doesn’t hit in the bottom of the 9th inning due to winning the game and then that number is reduced to 51.
Overall, the game can take a long time and efforts should continue to be pursued to reduce the overall length of the game. There are a number of factors influencing the length of the games that we will discuss below.
Below we break down the following:
- The factors causing the length of the game
- Possible Solutions: We discuss what efforts can be made to cut down the length of the game
- We compare MLB to other major sports such as the NFL and NBA
- We finish by providing an overview of how long other levels of baseball take
Factors Causing The Length of the Game at the MLB Level and Possible Solutions
1 – Pitching Changes
At a major league baseball game it is pretty normal to see anywhere between 3-5 pitching changes by both teams in a game. Gone are the days of pitchers throwing a complete game, although they still occur, just not very frequently.
With the specialization that now occurs with major league bullpens, managers are maximizing their 25 man roster and making sure they are getting the matchups they want from about the 6th inning on.
We continue to have the lefty specialist in the bullpen and several other specialists that are best against certain types of hitters.
On top of all of this, we also have more analytics and numbers that provide managers with an overload of information that can be used to try to maximize their rosters and get the best matchups possible. Also, teams are aware of how many innings their pitchers throw and the overall pitch count during every game.
If a pitcher is a rising star, the team closely monitors the total number of innings thrown in a month and overall season. This leads to teams heading to the bullpen earlier in the game.
Also, don’t discount the analytics on the hitting side of it all and understand that hitters now have a better idea and more information to understand how a pitcher is trying to get them out. This has an impact on a pitcher’s ability to make it through a lineup successfully 3 or 4 times in a single game.
When these pitching changes occur, the game comes to a halting stop and there is no action taking place. Each pitching change can take up to 3-5 minutes by the time the manager slowly walks the mound, waits for the umpire to head out, signals to the bullpen, and then the pitchers strolls in from the outfield bullpen. Talk about slow!
Possible Solution:
MLB baseball has now implemented a rule that each pitcher must pitch to a total of 3 batters minimum. Or get through the end of that inning, which could allow a pitcher to face as little as one hitter. Another solution is to cut down on the size of the bullpen allowed, but we don’t see that happening in the near future. The union will want to maximize players on roster and cut down on potential injury situations.
2 – Increase in the # of Strikeouts
We have seen a spike in the number of home runs and the number of strikeouts in a game. It is nothing for a player to strikeout over a 100 times in a season.
What this means to the length of the game is that less balls are being put into play and many batters might now go deep in the count instead of making contact early on.
This can lead to longer games and also cuts down on the number of ground ball double plays. This means less outs are made in the field and more outs are made through strikeouts.
This can not only make the game longer, but also make the game more boring. The only positive is that the number of homeruns in the 2019 season hit an all time high.
Possible Solution:
I am not really sure there is a solution to this problem. This is just the way the game is moving. The analytics tell us the importance of home runs and the ability to drive the ball for extra base hits.
I see this issue only growing in the coming years. It is not like you can reduce strikeouts directly. A rather radical idea is to start each hitter with a 1 and 1 count. This could lead to more walks and strikeouts.
This could change the game significantly, but I never would imagine this going in this direction because baseball is a game built on tradition and this is a significant change.
3 – Time Between Pitches
Many of the major league pitchers work very deliberately, especially late in games. As the tension rises, the pitcher will often slow down.
Another significant time causing situation is when a pitcher is shaking off the catcher and then the catcher has to head out to the mound. Also, with the recent cheating scandal by the Houston Astros, teams will now be even more aware and suspicious of teams and work to protect the communication between the catcher and the pitcher.
I could foresee more trips to the mound to ensure the pitcher and the catcher are on the same page. With technology potentially being a part of the cheating, teams will be extra cautious in the coming years.
Potential Solution:
A pitch clock that is followed closely. Also, requiring the batter to keep one foot in the box at all times. He can still turn to get the signal from the coach, but cannot leave the box.
These little 5-10 second savings add up in the over 60 plus at bats that occur during the typical game. We would also love to see MLB work on the communication between the pitcher and catcher and the manager.
Much like football utilizes a headset, I think catchers, pitchers and possibly a coach on the bench could communicate to help speed up this process. This could also cut down on the amount of cheating that is taking place and what the Houston Astros got away with in winning the 2017 World Series.
4 – Time Between Innings
Although MLB has sped up the time between innings, I still believe it could go faster. One major factor here is that television and radio make their money through the commercials shown between innings.
Cutting down on this time, could cut down on the amount of revenue that could be generated. This is a difficult situation because MLB and the owners rely on making money through marketing on TV and radio and I can hardly blame them for wanting to maximize this money.
Possible Solution:
Work on in game commercials on a split screen or more radio timeouts for quick ads. The fact is that many people use the time between winnings to get food, use the bathroom or check out what else i on TV.
5 – Mound Visits
Teams are only allowed to visit the mound 5 times during a game. This number remains high. Does the manager really need to stroll out to the mound to talk to the pitcher as frequently as they do?
I understand that it is often about slowing down the momentum and checking in on the pitcher, but is there a better way to do this. If each mound visit takes 1-2 minutes you are looking at an additional 5-10 minutes per game due to mound visits.
Possible Solution:
If the bench had a way to communicate with the pitcher and catcher we could see a complete reduction in mound visits saving 5-10 minutes per game. However, once again MLB would have to bring in some communication via technology and that doesn’t seem to be an option at this time.
Kudos to MLB – In Game Entertainment
The amount of in game entertainment during pitching changes and between innings is so much better than 20 years ago. Having younger kids and taking them to the ballpark, the in game entertainment helps make a slow, low scoring game more bearable.
Kids want to see action and MLB has learned from the NBA in doing constant entertainment such as give aways, contests and dancing to the music. Each MLB team has worked hard to provide and increase this level of entertainment. As a father with young kids at games, I am grateful. While I am there for the baseball and water, the kids appreciate and enjoy the fun.
The video screens at most MLB stadiums are large and entertaining as well. Gone are the days of the 1990s where not much happened during the game other than the game itself.
How Does MLB Compare to Other Sport (Table Below)
The only sport that seems to be in a good place right now is the NBA. Games can be completed in about 90 minutes and there is constant action. The games seem to move quickly and the in game entertainment is phenomenal.
The NFL struggles to complete their games in under 3 hours. Even with a short halftime, the games at the end can take a long time as teams utilize their timeouts, challenges occur and other factors make the games drag on.
However, the biggest barrier to a quick football game is the amount of tv timeouts. At times, it seems like every time the possession changes, there is a tv timeout and there you go watching 3-4 more commercials. When you are at the game, the game seems to frequently be in a timeout and players are just simply standing around.
| Sport | Total Time (AVG) |
| Baseball – MLB | 3 Plus Hours |
| Football – NFL | 3 Plus Hours |
| Basketball – NBA | 90 Minutes |
| Golf – PGA | 4 Plus Hours |
How Long is a High School Baseball Game?
The average length of a high school baseball game is between 2 and 2.5 hours. A couple of factors that help reduce the overall amount of time is that the game is only 7 innings long and there are a lot less pitching changes.
Teams do not have the speciality bullpens at the high school level, plus the ball is put in play more frequently due to the approach at the plate. Much of the pace of the game depends on the umpire and if he or she is willing to keep the game moving between innings.
In many parts of the country, where the weather is still chilly during the spring months, most players, coaches and fans appreciate a game that moves at a quality pace.
How Long is a College Game?
Most college games can take up to 3 hours. There are similar factors such as bullpen changes that make the game last a similar length to the major league game. However, they have found a way to keep this number at less right around 3 hours.
We do see an increase in the length of the games once the College World Series begins. All of baseball is working to reduce the total amount of time that baseball games take.
How Long is a Little League Game?
Little league games are often 6 or 7 innings long and don’t take more than 2 hours. The number one factor that impacts the length of little league games is a lack of strikes thrown and the inability to get outs.
Often times you may see a run rule game where a team is going to score 15 or more runs. This can result in long innings where a team struggles to throw strikes and when they do the ball is hit hard and the defense struggles to make the routine play.
One factor you will see in many little league game is that they won’t allow an inning to start after the time limit has been exceeded. In many places this time limit can be between 1 hour and 45 minutes and 2 hours.
When little league tournaments are taking place, they want to ensure games are still on time and the schedule occurs as it has been laid out.
| Level of Baseball | Innings |
| Professional – MLB | 9 |
| College – NCAA | 9 |
| High School | 7 |
| Little League | 6 or 7 (Time Limit) |
Does the Length of the Game Really Matter?
To some people, they are there to enjoy the game. If it takes 3.5 hours, they don’t simply care. However, with today’s ever changing fast paced world, many of the professional sports are under pressure to keep games moving since they make money from fans being entertained.
There is a limit to the time people are willing to spend to be entertained and they want that balance with the total money being spent. Most of the professional leagues have continuous conversations to shorten their game and provide the best product possible.
The only sport that doesn’t seem to have major concerns at this time is basketball, even though in the NBA, the playoff games can seem to drag on, especially as they move late into the 4th quarter due to the number of timeouts.
At sportswarrior365, we love many sports and enjoy playing, coaching and being fans. When we take our kids to the games, we want entertainment, but also want the game to be played at a reasonable pace.
The reality is that guys’ livelihoods are on the line and want to produce at their best possible level. Golf has come under a great amount of scrutiny because rounds are taking sometimes up to 5 hours. It is difficult for television to maintain a viewer’s interest over that time.
The true struggle with baseball is the 1-0 game as the majority of the fans want to see high scoring games with the ball being hit all over the park. While the baseball purist enjoys the 1-0 game due to the standout performance by the pitchers.
These games do slow down late in the game as the team winning 1-0 works hard to maintain that lead. This can lead to many pitching changes and even pinch hitters to try to maximize the matchups.
At the end of the day, a MLB game is still a great place for a family to attend a sporting event. The crowd at baseball games seem to be much more family friendly than an NFL game.
The tailgate mentality at an NFL game can make it difficult to take anyone younger than a teenager to the game. With it being only an 8 time a year event when home games take place, those with season tickets make the most of it and typically want to party and watch a game.
This creates a different environment for the fans than a MLB game or an NBA game. Baseball has the more classy type of fans than football.