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A professional baseball game in America is nine innings long and lasts about three hours. Each inning is split into halves, where the away team bats in the top half of the inning and the home team bats in the bottom half. In each half, the defending team is required to make three outs before they can switch sides and hit. Once each team has recorded three outs, the full inning is over. The average inning lasts about 20 minutes but can vary depending on how quickly and efficiently the pitcher is performing.
While there is no game clock in baseball, Major League Baseball has implemented a two-minute countdown between each half of an inning to ensure teams switch sides in a timely manner. Unlike in other sports such as football or basketball, there are no designated media timeouts in baseball broadcasts. Play stops either when teams are switching sides or when a manager visits the mound, where they can either take time to talk with their pitcher or bring a new player into the game.
Similar to professional baseball, college baseball games are nine innings long and usually last around three hours. The exception to this is for doubleheader games, which are played in a limited format of seven innings to fit both games in the same day, ensure the player’s health, and keep spectators entertained.
While both college and professional baseball games last nine innings, games in high school are limited to seven innings. This is mainly so that younger players do not have to withstand as much fatigue when playing. By requiring two fewer innings, pitchers do not have to throw as many pitches, and players do not have to be in the field for as long. This rule leads to quicker games that typically last around two hours.
Similar to high school baseball, youth baseball is shortened to prevent injury and fatigue to young players. In most youth baseball leagues, games are limited to only six innings and typically last under two hours. There is also usually a mercy rule in youth baseball, which states if a team is winning by more than ten runs after a certain number of innings, they are declared the winner, and the game ends before all six innings are played. In most leagues, the mercy rule is applied after the fourth inning.
A game can be longer than nine innings if both teams are tied at the end of the ninth inning, in which case the game goes into extra innings. Teams play extra innings until one inning ends with someone in the lead. This can happen in two ways: the away team can take the lead in the top half of the inning and hold the home team scoreless in the bottom half, or the home team can walk it off in the bottom half of the inning by scoring after holding the away team scoreless in the top half.
There is no limit to the number of extra innings that can be played, and some games stretch beyond five or six hours of play. In 2020, MLB adopted a new rule that placed a runner on second base to begin every half inning in extra innings. This rule was implemented to make it easier for teams to score in extra innings, thereby ending the game quicker.
While a normal game in college or professional leagues lasts nine innings, there is an exception to this rule. Teams will sometimes schedule doubleheader games, where two consecutive seven-inning games are played on the same day. Although these games are shorter than regular contests, they still count as full games. This scheduling tactic is implemented in college for a number of reasons, including canceled games, expected bad weather, and lowering travel costs. In professional leagues, doubleheaders are often the result of canceled or rescheduled games.
How long is an inning in a baseball game?
An inning in a baseball game tends to be about 20 minutes long. However, there is no set time for an inning in baseball, so the exact length of an inning can vary. The defending team must record three outs before they can switch sides and hit for their half of the inning. Each half usually takes about 10 minutes, and there is a break between halves for teams to switch sides and get in position. Once both teams have recorded three outs, the inning is over.
Why are baseball games so long?
Baseball games tend to last longer than other sports due to the slower pace of play. The average Major League game sees 300 pitches thrown. There is no constant action in baseball, and teams have to take time to switch roles each half inning, which also contributes to games being so long. In addition, baseball features a lot of substitutions for pitchers and hitters. Whenever one of these substitutions occurs, the manager must come out to announce the change, and pitchers are given time to warm up.
How long are high school baseball games?
High school baseball games are seven innings long and usually take around two hours to complete. As opposed to nine inning games in both college and professional baseball, high school teams play for seven innings, primarily to reduce fatigue for younger players. Since there are fewer innings, pitchers do not have to throw as many pitches, and players do not have to be in the field for as long.
It’s official: baseball has a new doubleheader rule for whatever is left of the 2020 season: games in twin bills will be seven innings long.
That rule, hinted at yesterday, was formally announced by Major League Baseball a few minutes ago. In the release, the league noted the necessity of the rule, saying, “[g]iven the frequency of doubleheaders, the effects of doubleheaders on rosters, and the need to reschedule games due to dynamic circumstances, both the Clubs and the Players have determined that this step promotes player health and safety.”
“Dynamic circumstances” is one heck of a euphemism for “a pandemic which has wreaked havoc on our schedule and has us at its mercy,” but I suppose MLB has PR people on staff whose job it is to soften such things.
The new doubleheader rule reads as follows:
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Official Baseball Rule 7.01(a) (“Regulation Games”), a regulation game in both games of a double-header shall consist of seven innings, unless extended because of a tie score. In this respect, the “Extra Innings” rule contained in Section 5.1.2 of the 2020 Operations Manual shall apply to each half-inning following the completion of the seventh inning.
Please note that OBR 7.01(c) shall still apply, such that if a game is called, it is a regulation game (1) if five innings have been completed; (2) if the home team has scored more runs in four or four and a fraction half-innings than the visiting team has scored in five completed half-innings; or (3) if the home team scores one or more runs in its half of the fifth inning to tie the score.
Given recent disruptions in the schedule, some teams are looking at playing a handful of doubleheaders throughout the season to make up for lost time. Reducing the length of doubleheaders to seven innings would put less strain on pitchers and wouldn’t require as much roster preparation. Most importantly, during a pandemic, this would reduce the total amount of time players spend in enclosed areas like clubhouses where COVID-19 is more easily spread.
Hey, it’s 2020. Nothing is normal. Why should doubleheaders be spared?
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If you are attending the ballpark in person, or just planning on watching a baseball game on tv, you may be wondering about the length of the game. How long is a baseball game?
In 2019, the average Major League Baseball game lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes (source). This is up from 2018, which had an average game length of 3 hours and 4 minutes. The length of an individual MLB game can vary greatly from this average, so prepare your day accordingly.
Major League Baseball games consist of nine total innings, as do all other levels of professional and college baseball (although college has exceptions). High school baseball lasts for seven innings, and most youth leagues last six.
In this article we will discuss the length of Major League Baseball games and discuss the actions MLB has taken to try and speed up pace of play in the sport. We will also discuss the length of minor league baseball, college baseball, high school baseball, and youth baseball games.
If you are planning on attending a baseball game, here are some of our most popular resources for baseball fans that I would recommend reading before going to a game:
- What to bring (plus security policies) to a baseball game
MLB Game Length
How Long Is an MLB Game?
A Major League Baseball game lasts slightly over three hours on average. In 2019, the average Major League Baseball game lasted 3 hours and 10 minutes.
The length of games has become a point of emphasis for Major League Baseball as fan engagement has suffered over recent years. Many fans site pace of play and length of game as a reason why they are losing interest in the sport.
The last time that the average length of an MLB game was under three hours was in 2015 when the average game length was 2 hours and 56 minutes. In 2008, the average game length was 2 hours and 50 minutes. As you can see, the length of Major League Baseball games is trending in the wrong direction, and because the increased length has led to criticism from fans, this issue has the full attention of the powers that be in Major League Baseball.
How Long is a Baseball Game on TV?
If you are going to a watch party for a baseball game (perhaps a playoff game), remember that there may be a pre and post-game show that goes with the actual baseball game. If you are interested in that, you will need to plan accordingly.
Pre-game shows can start 30 minutes prior to the game. Post game shows can be 30 minutes as well, but often just last 5-10 minutes after a game and include an on-field interview with a player or coach and then a small wrap-up segment by the announcers.
If you are going to a watch party for a playoff game, prepare yourself for the fact that playoff baseball can last much longer than standard baseball. In 2017, the average playoff baseball game lasted 3 hours and 32 minutes and in 2016, the average playoff baseball game lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes. That’s approximately 15-20 minutes longer, on average, than regular season baseball games.
Playoff baseball games last longer mainly due to how many pitching changes are made throughout a game. Because postseason games are so important, baseball managers are not afraid to use every pitcher in their bullpen to try and matchup as good as possible with the opposing batters. Trips to the mound to make pitching substitutions add time to the game.
A simple tip is to DVR your baseball games and fast forward through the commercials. Baseball games on TV have nearly an hour of commercial breaks. That’s an easy way to save an hour of your time that you can put elsewhere.
Steps to Improve Pace of Play
If you want to take a deep dive into why baseball is perceived as boring by many fans, and what MLB is doing to correct it, you can read my article on that subject by clicking on the article here: Why is Baseball So Boring to Many Fans?
Major League Baseball has taken several steps to try and improve pace of play. Here is a list of some of the steps they have taken:
- Limit Mound Visits – A team is now limited to six mound visits per nine innings.
- Shorten Time Between Innings – Some experts think it still needs to be shorter.
- Pitch Clock – Only used in minor leagues so far.
- Intentional Walks – Intentional walks awarded without pitches.
- Batter’s Box Policy – Batters asked to not leave batter’s box during an at-bat.
Again, if you want to read more about those issues, see the article linked above. Some of those steps have had a small impact, but overall, baseball is still seeing the length of games slightly increase. This may point to the fact that the culture surrounding the sport, from a player’s perspective, is accustomed to a slow pace of play, and even maybe somewhat reliant on it.
This highlights the challenge that Major League Baseball faces in trying to shorten games. Changing culture and player habits and routines is difficult and will always receive some level of blow back from the players themselves.
Major League Baseball is tasked with the issue of player performance vs fan engagement. For example, many MLB hitter’s objected to the policy of asking batters to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box during an at-bat. Some players feel like it is a disadvantage for the hitters. When the rule was first implemented, Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz took exception saying:
“I saw one pitch, I come out, I’m thinking, “What is this guy going to try to do to me next?” I’m not walking around just because there are cameras all over the place and I want my buddies back home to see me and this and that. It doesn’t go that way.”
David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Changing the way the sport operates will always have some sort of impact on player routine. This is what complicates this issue for Major League Baseball. The answer isn’t as simple as changing rules and shortening games. Major League Baseball feels pressure to reduce the length of games and improve pace of play without affecting the quality of the product. But even if initial player blow-back exists, the game itself will adjust and evolve over time and become accustomed to new routines and new rules.
The Effect of Starting Pitching
The starting pitcher can have a significant impact on the length of a Major League Baseball game. A pitcher who works fast and pounds the strike zone forces quick action and drives the game forward at a much faster pace than a slow-working starter.
Not only do many fans appreciate this type of baseball, so do many players. It is much easier for fielders to stay focused when their is consistent action.
Maximum Innings in Baseball – Does It Exist?
Is there a limit to the number of innings a Major League Baseball game can last? No, by rule there is no limit to the length of MLB games. Extra innings will continue until a team wins.
But in reality, teams only have so many pitchers available. Eventually, teams run out of pitchers to use, and position players must pitch. When this happens, runs are usually scored, and the game comes to an end.
The longest MLB game in modern history was in 1984 when the Chicago White Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7-6 in 25 innings.
MLB Game Length vs NFL Game Length
In 2018, the average MLB game lasted 3 hours and 9 minutes. In recent years, the longest average length of an NFL game was in the 2015 season when the average game also lasted 3 hours and 9 minutes. The length of NFL games vs MLB games is practically the same.
But as I detailed in my article here about baseball’s fight to stay relevant, there are a lot of other factors holding MLB back. It’s not only the length of games, it’s the pace of games. The long breaks in between consequential action bores many fans.
Of course baseball has enthusiasts (like myself) who love the game for what it is, but even the truest of baseball fans must admit that baseball is suffering to engage the younger generation in the ways that the NFL does.
In 2018, only 9% of Americans said that baseball was their favorite sport to watch. According to Gallup, that is the lowest percentage for the sport since Gallup began asking the question in 1937. For comparison, 37% of Americans consider football their favorite sport to watch.
MLB must ask itself how can it make its product harder to turn off. There are several questions it must consider. Is the schedule too long? 162 regular season games means that very few of those games will severely consequential. Perhaps average fans are having a difficult time trying to figure out why they care about a meaningless mid-season game.
The NFL has such a short regular season that every regular season game has a monumental impact on the playoff chances of the team. Fans have a harder time turning something like that off. They MUST know who wins, because it matters.
How Long Is an Inning in Baseball?
A full inning in Major League Baseball lasts about 20 minutes on average. Late innings typically take a little bit longer than the early innings because a manager will use his bullpen a lot more later in a game.
Many of the same things that slow down baseball games can slow down individual innings. An inning may have multiple pitching changes, a replay review, or an on-field argument between the manager and umpires. Dominant pitchers make for quick innings.
How Long Is A Minor League Baseball Game?
The average minor league baseball game will last approximately three hours. Minor league baseball plays a full 9-inning baseball game just like Major League Baseball. The pace and skill of the game is very similar to MLB and so the overall length of the game is very similar.
Minor league baseball does not have the same instant replay system available to teams that Major League Baseball does because minor league baseball games do not have the same number of cameras in the stadium. This likely helps reduce the overall length of the game, although it is important to remember that instant replay can also help speed up a game if it prevents a lengthy on-the-field argument between a manager and umpire.
How Long Is A College Baseball Game?
In 2018 the average NCAA college baseball game lasted 2 hours and 59 minutes. Most college baseball games are 9 innings long, but some games are 7 innings. The amount of innings will obviously affect the overall length of the game, so be sure to check how many innings are in the game you will attend.
Just like Major League Baseball sees a spike in game length for postseason games, so does college baseball. According to this article written by the New York Times, 2018 Regional and Super Regional games averaged 3 hours and 18 minutes. 2018 College World Series games lasted 3 hours and 30 minutes in the lead-up to the championship series. The longest game in the College World Series history was played June 16, 2018 and lasted for 4 hours and 24 minutes.
If you are attending or watching a postseason college baseball game, plan for it to last 3 ½ hours or longer.
How Long Is A High School Baseball Game?
The average high school baseball game will last between 1 ½ hours and 2 hours. Most high school baseball divisions play seven-inning games. The time it takes to play a high school baseball game can have some extreme exceptions due to the level of talent of some teams. Scores can get out of hand at time and make for very long innings which can drag out the time it takes to complete the game.
If you are headed to a high school baseball game, it would be best to prepare yourself just in case the game takes longer than expected.
Most high school baseball games are played in doubleheader format, which means the teams will play two full games. So, if you are trying to plan out how long a high school baseball game will take, you will first want to find out if there is only one game or two. If it is a double header, and you plan to stay for both games, you can expect a 15-20 minute break in between games.
If you are attending a junior varsity high school baseball game you can expect the same average time frame of 2 hours or slightly under. Most junior varsity leagues also play seven total innings.
How Long Is A Youth Baseball Game?
A youth baseball game will last on average between 1 hour and 1.5 hours depending on the level of baseball. There are many different forms of youth baseball depending on age, league, and state.
Most little league games are six innings long, with some of the advanced leagues playing seven innings and some of the younger leagues playing five innings.
The youngest types of youth baseball include tee-ball and coach-pitch (also known as ‘Minor Leagues’). Some tee-ball leagues have a time limit of one hour for the entire game. Many tee ball leagues do not keep score, allow every player to bat every inning, and use parents as coaches and umpires.
Tee-ball and coach-pitch youth baseball leagues are development leagues for kids to learn the sport, get healthy exercise, and have fun. The elite levels of little league are very competitive and may see some games last near two hours in length.
Other Baseball Information
For other baseball information, visit our articles linked below: