Game Four = 3:25

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The fourth game of the 2022 World Series lasted 185 minutes with the Astros shutting out the Phillies 5-0.  Four Houston pitchers led by Christian Javier held the Phillies hitless.  (The game was a no hitter, but to me a true no hitter is one pitcher throwing a complete game, not four guys joining together to keep the other team hitless for nine innings.)  It marked the first time a team had gone an entire World Series game without a hit since 1956, when the Yankees' Don Larsen pitched a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in game five.

As a comparison, that game in the 1956 series lasted two hours and six minutes.  This game lasted one hour and 19 minutes longer.  The Phillies also managed to strike out 14 times, while the Astros whiffed another eleven times.  That means 25 of the games 54 putouts (46%) had absolutely no action on the field except for the batter failing to make contact.

The reason for this is MLB's infatuation with the long ball.  Singles hitters don't get paid their worth, while hitters that strike out over 100 times a year and hit 30+ home runs are getting huge contracts.  MLB is trying to put butts in seats and believes fans would rather see home run derbies than games featuring pitching, speed and defense.  And a whole generation of fans has bought into that mentality.  That has led to more pitching specialists and more money being paid to big league pitchers.  With teams investing in pitchers arms they are more protective of those arms, thus the shortened pitching stints in a game for big league and to a certain extent minor league pitchers. The bottom line is, and it's been this way for a very long time, is the game is big, big business.  The fan can either take it or leave it.

Apparently, more fans are opting to leave it.  The latest ratings reveal that more than 300 thousand TV viewers chose not to watch game two this year compared to the second game of the 2021 World Series.  Why you ask.  The game has become so specialized at the big league level it's boring.  While MLB believes changing rules to implement a pitch clock will speed up the game next year, it must still deal with too many pitching changes and too many plate appearances where nothing happens.

Unless a strong commissioner comes along, who is given the power to make drastic changes, the game will continue to die a slow death.