Baseball is a fantastic game that many people have enjoyed at one time or another. It is symbolic of the joys of childhood and the beauty of summer. It signifies the start of spring time in many parts of the country that have gone through a long difficult and sometimes snowy winter.
It is more of a slow pace game compared to football, basketball and hockey, but many people enjoy that pace. Baseball has the longest season of all sports. Not only do games take a long time, but the season is typically long as well.
So, how many baseball games in a season?
For Major League Baseball (MLB) they play 162 regular season games. This is preceded by spring training games and followed by the MLB postseason. The spring training begins in February and the World Series doesn’t end until the very end of October. All in all, some teams may play over 200 games when you combine pre season game, regular season games and post season games.
Below we will provide a complete overview of how many baseball games in a season. It varies from level to level and each level is truly unique in the number of games. Playing baseball year round is more conducive in the southern parts of the United States and many players recently in the MLB have been from areas south of the United States.
How Many Baseball Games in a season – Major League Baseball
As explained above the total number of regular season games is 162. This number has increased over the years when major league baseball played 154 through 1961. From 1962 on the teams have played 162 regular game seasons.
One time the World Series was cancelled in 1994 due to the Players Strike, which also impacted the 1995 season, in which teams only played 144 regular season due to the strike not ending in time to play the complete 162 game season.
Teams typically play 3 or 4 game series against the same team. This allows pitching rotations to work through and cuts down the amount of travel for 162 games. Teams will have the occasional Monday or Thursday off, but for the most part play just about every day during the months April through September.
This schedule is a grind on the players and the teams. It is especially difficult in parts of Texas or Florida where the summer heat during the June through August months can be near unbearable and make playing the game more difficult. Dome stadiums or retractable roof stadiums have become more common in the extreme hot climates. They were already used in some cold weather cities or where it rains frequently.
The reason for the 162 games and keeping it steady over the years is that baseball is a very traditional with the records. For example, the home runs in a season record, total wins by a team in a season and then the larger milestones, which often take an entire career to accomplish such as the 500 and 600 home run levels and the 3,000 hit club.
These numbers are held in high regard and are very important to the baseball traditionalist and play a factor when it comes to Hall of Fame voting.
A 100 win season is considered phenomenal, a 50 home run season is spectacular and 3,000 hits or 500 home runs are almost guaranteed to get one into the hall of fame as long as they haven’t been accused of using steroids during the steroids era.
Many of the records such as the single season home run record and the total home runs ever hit were shattered during this time.
The post season shifted in 1995 with the addition of the league division series followed by the league championship series. There was also a wild card round added during the 2010’s that is now a one game playoff to determine the final spot in the league division series.
The league division series is a 5 game series, followed by a 7 game series in the league championship series and a 7 game World Series that determines the World Champions.
How Many Baseball Games in a season – College Baseball
Most college teams will play up to 56 games during the regular season and then can play additional games if they qualify for the college world series. College baseball is not nearly as popular as college football and basketball, but it still holds a spot in the overall development of players.
Many players will participate in “summer ball” and play an additional 40 games, which brings the minimum number of games played by most collegiate ball players to 106. This is a significant amount of games considering that the players are also balancing their college studies.
Due to the expansive nature of the minor league baseball system, many players are drafted out of high school and go straight to the minor league versus playing in college.
One of the major differences is that players in the minor leagues have the sole focus of playing baseball, where college student-athletes have to balance the demands of academics with the demands of playing collegiate sports.
Players selected in the first round of the MLB draft, even straight out of high school, can receive millions of dollars in a signing bonus. It then may take a player at least several years to work their way through the minor league system.
How Many Baseball Games in a season – High School Baseball
Most states place limits on the total number of games allowed to be played in interscholastic sports. Baseball is no exception in most states. The average is going to be between 25-30 games that most states allow. Teams also get so many scrimmages and also can pick up games in the postseason.
Many of the best players play the majority of their games in “summer ball” where some players may play an additional 60-80 games bringing their total number of games between 85-100. A lot of this depends on the area of the country they live in and if the weather cooperates.
Baseball is a highly skilled games and if a player can get between 200-350 at bats in a season over the course of a high school career, they are better prepared for the next level. The repetitions must take place in a highly skilled game such as baseball.
Some teams in the northern part of the United States will look to travel south during their schools spring break to play numerous games in the warmer weather towards the end of March or in the beginning of April. These trips allow teams to get ahead of their competition by playing 4-6 games in a warmer climate, early in the season.
How Many Baseball Games in a season – Little League
Many kids start off developing their skills in the game of baseball through little league. Games will typically start in April or May and the season ends around June or July. Many kids see the great connection between summer break from school and playing little league baseball.
Often times, kids can enjoy their own backyard baseball or schoolyard baseball which is much more informal. A simple little league or rec team might play 15-20 games.
More and more communities have travel teams that will play games during the week and then play tournaments on the weekend. In these tournaments alone, most teams will play between 3-7 additional games each weekend.
This brings the total number of games for some summer teams to 40-60 games. 15 to 20 in regular league and then an additional 20-40 in tournament level games.
Some kids will also play fall ball, which can be another 15-20 games of experience. Overall, the number of games a kid could play during a calendar year might reach close to 80 when winter or indoor baseball is a possibility as well.
It is pretty amazing the level of commitment that it takes for some kids to play this amount of games. Hopefully, the kids are enjoying this level of baseball and aren’t burning out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why so many games in baseball?
Baseball doesn’t necessarily have a wear and tear on your body like basketball or football might. Your chances for injuries are also reduced, however, pitchers typically have the most amount of injuries because of the strain on the shoulder and elbow that results from the throwing motion that a baseball pitcher makes. Teams are able to play multiple games in a day at tournaments and games can quickly add up.
How many innings do most games play?
At the major league level they always play at least 9 innings unless there is rain situation or extra innings. At the college level, the preferred game length is 9 inning as well. While in high school, the average game length is 7 innings.
Most little leagues will play between 6 and 7 innings, typically with a time limit in affect. Overall a baseball game can take between 2-3 hours to play. One point of discussion in Major League Baseball is the time it takes to play games. There have been efforts to speed the game up. With the amount of pitching changes and the increase in strikeouts the game game has increased over the last decade.
Record for most consecutive played baseball games?
Cal Ripken holds the consecutive game streak of 2,632. He broke the previously record held by Lou Gehrig at 2,130. This record had been held for 56 years. The previous record before that had been 1307 games. The streak of 2,632 by Cal Ripken was 16 year in the making and is truly remarkable. Cal Ripken played shortstop for the majority of his career and played a high level over the 16 years.
How often do pitchers pitch?
Starting pitchers in the major league usually are in a 5 man rotation. This means they pitch every 5th day for the most part. At a time, some major league teams used a 4 man rotation, but later adjusted to a 5 day rotation because of the strain on the arms caused from pitching. On the other end are bullpen pitchers who may pitch several days in a row before getting a day off. Managers have to manage their bullpen.
At the little league level and high school level, there are usually limits on the number of total innings or a limit based on pitch count. This is in place to protect younger players from over zealous coaches or coaches who do not have the best interest of the player long term.
Number of Games – Summary
True baseball fans love the fact that their team plays just about every day. This provides a consistent daily activity between the months of April and September and provides fans with daily entertainment. It is a common summer activity to turn the radio or television daily onto your favorite team.
The roller coaster that a regular season can bring can be fun to ride. Baseball can be an agonizing sport as the tension builds as a close game progresses to the 8th and 9th innings. One of the most difficult things to do is to close out a 1 run game in the 9th inning for a closer in baseball.
The pressure is on the pitcher and he wants to protect the one run lead that his teammates have worked hard to build over the last several hours of baseball.
Baseball is one of the only games where the clock cannot save you. You must be able to record all 27 out to earn the victory. There is no passing the ball around to run the clock out. The pitcher must toe the rubber and make solid pitches and hope he can keep the batter from getting a hit or a home run.
Baseball is a great sport to sit back and relax at a stadium as well. On a warm summer day, people enjoy being at the ballpark, kicking back as they enjoy the entertainment and the weather.
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We have many other great posts related to baseball and other sports. Stick around and check out our other articles. Ever wonder what are the 5 tools in baseball, check out more here.
We also have a breakdown of all of the positions in baseball with key drills to help a player get better. That post can be found here.
We probably love baseball as much as you do and enjoy coaching, playing and reminiscing about our younger days with the sports. For me, baseball was always special and there was nothing like going to the park on a warm summer day or watching playoff baseball in October as the tension multiples dramatically!