Game Five = 3:57

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This game started just after seven p.m. and was so long it didn't end until after eleven where I live.  Three hours and 57 minutes is a very long time for a 3-2 game that was won by the Astros in Philadelphia.

The game featured lots of boredom as 24 batters struck out.  That's 44 percent of all of the outs recorded last night.  Chief of the strikeout artists was the Phillies Rhys Hoskins who whiffed four times in five at bats.  That shouldn't be too surprising as this Phillie has struck out 23 times in post season in just 69 plate appearances.  Hoskins also hurt his team in the eighth inning when he booted a ball that ended up giving the Astros a run that turned out to be the game winner.

Here is a look at the times of games for every ten years going back sixty years.

Game 5 - October 10, 1962 = 2:42     Yankees 5 - Giants 3

Game 5 - October 20, 1972 = 2:26     Reds 5 - Athletics 4

Game 5 - October 17, 1982 = 3:02     Brewers 6 - Cardinals 4

Game 5 - October 22, 1992 = 3:05     Braves 7 - Blue Jays 2

Game 5 - October 24, 2002 = 3:53     Giants 16 - Angels 4

In 2012 there was no game five as the Giants swept the Tigers in four games.

As you can see the trend is games have gotten longer and longer as pitching became more specialized, pitchers and hitters failed to stay on the mound or in the batter's box and umpires failed to call the strike zone as it is written.

For baseball more time at the ballpark does not mean improved quality.  If anything it drives the public to other forms of entertainment.  At the same time baseball's popularity has waned the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League have all seen huge increases in attendance and rising television ratings.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see where baseball is headed.