Summer 1995: Length of Games

The recent wave of proposals to speed up the game got me to thinking: how much longer are the games of today? According to the 1994 Stats Baseball Scoreboard, from 1989 through 1993 American League games averaged 2:51, NL games, 2:44. By contrast, in 1967 NL games averaged 2:31 (6/8/68 TSN), falling to 2:27 in 1968 and 1969 (2 /1/69 and 4/11/70 TSN) -- a difference of about 17 minutes in 25 years.

But the real lengthening came earlier, during the 1940s and 1950s. The Sporting News reported that in 1942, the average American League game lasted exactly 2:00. This figure fell to 1:58 in 1943 before rising to 2:04 in 1945, 2:06 in 1947, 2:12 in 1948 and 2:19 in 1949 (5/31/50 TSN). Lee Allen, who kept track of so much other minutiae, reported in the 1961 Official Baseball Guide the following averages for both leagues: 1951, 2:23; 1952, 2:25; 1953, 2:26; 1954, 2:30; 1955, 2:32; 1956, 2:32; 1957, 2:34; 158, 2:32; 1959, 2:38, and 1960, 2:38. Thus in the 18 years from 1942 to 1960, the length of the average game grew by thirty-eight minutes, rising only about 10 minutes in the next 30 years despite longer commercial breaks and far more relief pitching. Despite all of Carlton Fisk’s trips to the mound and Tony LaRussa’s four-pitcher innings, the longest nine-inning game in major league history remains the second game of the Dodger-Giant pennant playoff in 1962, which took an incredible 4:18 to complete.

Complaints about long games also have a long history. In the February 14, 1962 Sporting News, George Sisler identified three causes of delay which should sound very familiar: (1) the high number of 3 and 2 counts; (2) an increased number of pitching changes; and (3) greater delay between pitches, with slow hurlers and batters stepping out. Ten years earlier, in 1952, a Sporting News fan survey revealed that 10/29/52 TSN fan poll: 60% thought games were too long, with 32% saying they attended fewer games as a result. The fans blamed the longer games on delaying tactics by pitchers and batters, too much managerial masterminding, and too many arguments. Their recommendations: 1/3 wanted to give umpires more authority to break up conferences and eject stallers; 15% wanted to enforce the time limit between pitches; others wanted fewer warmup pitches and quicker appearances by relievers (10/29/52 TSN).

[Additional material:

Average length of games, 1981-2000, as compiled by the Elias Sports Bureau and reported by the Associated Press:

1981 2:33

1982 2:34

1983 2:36

1984 2:35

1985 2:40

1986 2:44

1987 2:48

1988 2:45

1989 2:46

1990 2:48

1991 2:49

1992 2:49

1993 2:48

1994 2:54

1995 2:50

1996 2:51

1997 2:52

1998 2:47

1999 2:53

2000 2:58]

Copyright © 1995, 2001 Doug Pappas. All rights reserved.
Originally published in the Summer 1995 issue of Outside the Lines, the SABR Business of Baseball Committee newsletter.

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