World Series Game Five = 3:42 Boredom Factor = 33

The Los Angeles Dodgers wrapped up the 2024 World Series coming from behind twice to beat the New York Yankees 7-6.  The Yankees were up 5-0 before the Dodgers clawed back to score five of their own in the fifth inning to tie it. The Yanks went back up in the 6th inning with a run before the Dodgers scored two more in the top of the eighth.  Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler then combined to close out New York and win Game 5 and the World Series.

This was the longest game of the series clocking in at 3:42.  It was an exciting game, but still three hours and 42 minutes for a nine inning game?  MLB needs to go back to the drawing board and tighten up the rules in place to speed up play.

The Boredom Factor is a combined total of 18 strikeouts and 16 walks as well as a hit batsman.  But, the biggest time waster was all of the pitching changes. The Dodgers changed hurlers seven times and the Yankees made four changes. I realize numerous pitching changes have become a part of today's game, but it is also killing the game. MLB "leadership", if there really is any, needs to figure out how to tighten up the game even more. I could write at length about this and will when I have more time.

Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers was selected by writers and broadcasters as the World Series MVP. He homered four times and drove in 13.  The only other player who I would have considered for the MVP is Mookie Betts who drove in 16 runs while batting .290

I mentioned Aaron Judge in the post prior to this one.  For the record, he ended up climbing over the Mendoza line, hitting .184 for the series. He was 2 for 3, with a double and a home run.

World Series Game Four = 3:16 Boredom Factor = 22

Apparently, the rules implemented by Major League  Baseball before the 2023 season don't apply in the World Series.  Actually, they do apply but this game logged in at three hours and 16 minutes.  The Yankees finally got a win in Game 4 as Aaron Judge got a hit and contributed to the Yanks 11-4 win over the Dodgers.  Judge is still below the Mendoza line hitting a "whopping" .152 for the series.

The boredom factor is a metric I came up with to count the number of times a batter came to the plate and failed to put the ball in play.  There were a combined 12 strikeouts, nine walks and a hit batsman.  There were also 9 pitching changes where a national TV audience watched commercials and Yankee Fans sat around waiting for the game to continue.

The Dodgers now lead the Yankees three games to one.

World Series Game Three = 3:25; Boredom Factor is 31

The World Series shifted cross country from Los Angeles to the Bronx.  The Dodgers behind the strong pitching of Walker Buehler  won the game 4-2.  For the third consecutive game Freddie Freeman homered for the Dodgers.

The boredom factor of the game is 28.  This is a statistic I've developed that counts the times a batter fails to put the ball into play during an at bat. This game there were18 strikeouts, 12 walks and one hit batsman.

The game as you saw in the headline for this post lasted a whopping three hours and 25 minutes. The main reason for this is both managers over used their bullpens. The Yankees used nine pitchers and the Dodgers employed 8 pitchers.  The TV talking heads tried to tell the public this was exciting baseball.  But, I doubt many people who watched it agree with that assessment.  

World Series Game Two = 2:53

The Los Angeles Dodgers won for the second night in a row downing the New York Yankees 4-2 behind the pitching of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.  And for the second night in a row Freddie Freeman homered for the Dodgers.

There were a lot of dull moments in this game too as 18 plate appearances took place without the hitter putting the ball into play.  There were 13 strikeouts, three walks and two hit batsmen, both times Anthony Rizzo was hanging out over the plate when he got plunked.  Rizzo needs to remember half of that plate belongs to the pitcher.

If you are looking for the time and boredom factor in Game One you may read about it by going to this post.

Dodgers Are the New World Series Champions

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers on their defeat of the New York Yankees four games to one.  I didn't watch any of the games, because they are too long and boring. But, I did read the Associated Press stories and it will not go down as a great series.

I will post my annual time and lack of action blogs in the coming day or two.  To give you an idea of what I mean, Game 1 lasted 3:27. (It went one extra inning before the Dodgers won on a walk-off grand slam by Freddie Freeman; one of the few highlights of the five game championship).

There were 24 trips to the plate in game one which the ball was not put into play.  There were 17 strikeouts (three by the Yankees Mike Judge), six walks and one hit batsman.  All just a waste of fans time.

One final thought on the completed series, Game Three of the "Fall Classic" just barely beat a mid-season NFL game in the night's TV rating.  You would think the baseball championship would have fared much better in the rating than the Steelers and Giants.