Game Three = 2:51

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The Texas Rangers went up two games to one in Game Three of the 2023 World Series.  The Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 behind the six hit pitching of five Texas pitchers.

While the game was played in less than three hours, it still had a number of stretches where there was no action.  There were 15 strikeouts and five walks.  And there were eight pitching changes where almost 49 thousand fans in Phoenix had to sit around watching absolutely nothing.

Game Two = 2:59

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Game Two of the 2023 World Series came in about an hour faster than game one.  The Arizona Diamondbacks bounced back to win the game 9-1 over the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic.

There were "only" seven pitching changes in the game, with 12 strikeouts and five walks.  The game was lopsided as Merrill Kelly dominated Ranger batters through the first seven innings of the game striking out nine and walking no one.

The series is now tied at one game each.  Game three of the World Series will be played Monday night in Phoenix.

World Series Game 1 = 4:02

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For regular readers of this blog you know I've written about the World Series in past years from a different perspective than most writers.

My interest is the time of the game and what I will call the boredom factor.  The boredom factor includes items like walks, strikeouts and pitching changes when there is absolutely nothing happening on the field.  At these times fans in the stands have to fight sleep and those at home have to fight the urge to change the channel.

Major League Baseball will try to feed you some crap about how exciting Game One of the 2023 World Series was.  It was played in Arlington, Texas and the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 in 11 innings.  It was somewhat entertaining but it also seemed to last all night coming in at a whopping four hours and two minutes.  This is in light of MLB's yearlong "hype-fest" telling the public how much better the game is now that a clock is put on the pitcher and hitter.  Yeah, right.

Four hours and two minutes is a joke.  Sure, the game lasted 11 innings but a game played at a snail's pace in which the hitters are dug in like coal miners swinging for the fences is not interesting despite MLB's fascination with the long ball and minutia like "exit velocities".  This is not your father's or grand-fathers sport.

This four hour marathon included eleven pitching changes, eleven walks and 24 strikeouts. 24 strikeouts?  Add a hit batsman and this means there were 47 events in the game where absolutely nothing happened and the ball wasn't put into play.  MLB is proud of itself for speeding up the game, but a faster game without any action is still like watching paint dry.