World Series Game 1 = 4:02

Image owned by Major League Baseball

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.

So Far, So Good

Major League Baseball is five days from opening day and spring training is all but a memory.  The rules implemented by MLB over the winter to speed up games appear to be working...so far.  Pitchers and hitters are on the clock and the overall time of games is reported by MLB to be down 25 minutes per game.

If you read this blog regularly you know I've lobbied for faster games for years.  Up through last  year the games had become snooze fests with batters stepping out, pitchers stepping off and fans taking a nap between pitches.

Now that spring training games are almost behind us let's hope major league umpires enforce the rules once the real season begins on March 30th.

Game Six = 3:18

It's over and done for another year.  Thankfully.  One of the least entertaining World Series I can recall in the last 60 years came to a merciful conclusion last night in Houston.  For the record the Astros won the series four games to two.  The score last night was 5-2 obviously in favor of the Astros.

The game will not go down in history as memorable except for Houston beating a mediocre Philadelphia team and bringing the series to a close.  This game featured 17 strikeouts and seven walks.  Add to that five pitching changes and well, you get the idea.

According to those who think it's a big deal Jeremy Pena was named the series MVP.  And according to yours truly, Rhys Hoskins was the least valuable player of the Series.

The average time of game this year was 3 hours and 36 minutes.  (That includes game one which lasted ten innings, but that opening game also lasted an ungodly four hours and 34 minutes.)  Game one was the longest game of this year World Series and game three was the shortest coming in at three hours and eight minutes.

Both of my predictions prior to the start of the series were on the money.  I picked the Astros to win in five games (it took six) and I wrote the average time of game would be 3:35.  I missed that forecast by one minute.

Game Five = 3:57

Image owned by MLB

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.

2022 World Series

Baseball's popularity at the major league level continues to wane due to the lack of action it provides to its patrons.  And the 2022 post-season is no different.  This year the rocket scientists that manage Major League Baseball expanded the playoffs to permit two more mediocre teams into the post season tournament.

That hasn't worked out very well for the suits in New York as a team that has no business playing this post season, the Philadelphia Phillies, is now in the World Series.  And the best team in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers, is home for the winter doing whatever millionaire baseball players do in the winter in Southern California.

I won't be watching any of the games from start to finish because I don't care to invest four hours in a game.  Then multiply that by up to seven depending on the number of games that are played.  No thanks.  I have a life and if Major League Baseball (MLB) really wanted me to watch, the games would start about 4 p.m. where I live in the central time zone.  But, baseball has to show them in primetime for the FOX TV network, which has literally millions of dollars wrapped up in rights payments to Major League Baseball.

If you want to know my take on this year's matchup you can read this post from earlier this evening.  I won't have much to say about the individual games outside of writing about them the same way I have the past couple of years.  I will be keeping track of the time of the games since they are extremely long and frequently become incredibly boring.  Based on the last two seasons my guess is the average length of game for this series will be about three hours and 35 minutes.  Time will tell.  Check back here after each game for an update.

A New Season, But It's The Same Boring Game

Major League Baseball is back for the 2022 season with a number of rule changes and gimmicks designed to speed up play and add interest to what has become a dying business.

MLB's first weekend is in the books and the times are just as long as they have ever been despite gimmicks like electronic pitch signaling and larger bases.  This year also marks the use of the designated hitter in all National League games.  This is a change the league resisted for 45 years but finally at the will of MLB "experts" was added despite numerous NL team objections.

I have yet to watch a game in its entirety because I don't care to waste time watching batters wander in and out of the batter's box and pitchers waste time blowing on their hands, adjusting their hats and walking around the back of the pitcher's mound.

Until baseball forces these players to play instead of wasting the time of thousands at each game MLB will continue to lose fan support and that translates to lost revenue for both sides.

Make the pitchers throw the ball to the plate in 15 seconds when no one is on and 20 seconds when a base is occupied and it will speed up the process and the hitter will have to be ready too.  If not, then a strike will be called against them.  Unless, a stick is poking out of their eye, the batter will no longer be granted time out at will. 

Another way to keep things moving is for the home plate umpire to call the strike zone as it is written in the rule book;  from the knees to the letters.  Currently the strike zone is being called from the middle of the thigh to the waste.  Make the hitters swing instead of waiting for called balls.  Now, when the hitter gets ahead in the count he is looking to drive the pitch into the next time zone.  This fascination with long homeruns is being fueled by MLB.  You need look no farther than the daily highlights on the business' own application.  This obsession with home runs has become detrimental to the rest of the skills in baseball.  Stealing bases and "small ball" have become a lost art.

Until, Major League Baseball starts enforcing the rules, the games will grow longer and even more tedious.  It will deteriorate even further until it finally starts hurting both the players and owners economically.  As a former season ticket holder to a major league baseball team, I guarantee you I will not buy another ticket unless the game swings back to what it used to be.

Game Six = 3:22

 

The 2021 World Series came to a close last night with the Atlanta Braves being crowned "World Champions".  The Braves won the series four games to two.  The score last night was 7-0 Braves over the Houston Astros.

There were a total of 19 strikeouts, three walks and nine pitching changes.  Houston alone changed pitchers seven times even though it was losing the entire time by a lopsided margin.

The six games lasted a total of 13 hours and 7 minutes or an average per game of three hours and 38 minutes.  This was eight minutes longer than I projected in my pre World Series post.

Game Five = 4:00

For the second time in just five games it took four hours to play a nine inning baseball game.  I don't have the time to waste on these matchups but do from time to time flip channels to see the score.  I live in the Central Time Zone and at 10:00 p.m. this one was only in the bottom of the sixth inning.  I went to bed and found out this morning that Houston won it 9-5 to take the series back to Texas.  Atlanta is up three games to two.

The game was slowed down by nine pitching changes, 16 strikeouts and another eight walks.  The "Fall Classic" is now guaranteed to not end until at least November 2nd.  MLB has to be happy the Red Sox and Cubs aren't playing.

Game Four = 3:45

 

The Braves won again at home 3-2, to take a three to one lead in games over the Astros.

The length of the game was 3 hours and 45 minutes.  The Braves came from behind to win the matchup but it certainly was not exciting unless you though your whole Saturday night should be wasted watching baseball while the NCAA offered a full slate of games.

This game was slowed down by ten pitching changes.  There were 18 strikeouts in which the hitters could not put the ball into play and eight more plate appearances where the hitters watched the ball sail out of the strike zone.

Can  you say "boring"?

Game Three = 3:24

The Braves won the game over the Astros 2-0 to take a two games to one lead.  There were only eight hits in the entire game yet it would have taken nearly three and a half hours of your life to watch it.

There were 17 strikeouts, eight walks and nine pitching changes and it still took 3:24 minutes to play.  In the 60's and 70's this would have been played in about 2:15 and there would not have been near the strikeouts or pitching changes.

The game continues to evolve into a tedious snooze fest.  Perhaps MLB needs to be told it needs less pitching changes and more players who can put the ball into play instead of standing in the box with the bat on their shoulders.

Game Two = 3:11

For a post season MLB game this was played "relatively" quick.  Just three hours and 11 minutes for eight and a half innings of baseball.  But, it wasn't much of a game as the Astros came back to tie the Braves at a game apiece.

There were another 23 at bats in which the batters struck out and there was no action and another four bats where the players watched the pitch go wide or low.  No action for those paying literally hundreds of dollars for their tickets.  And to top it off there were eight pitching changes even though the game was nowhere near close.  Again, long delays where the fans sat around watching nothing because there was no action on the field.

Game One = 4:05

 

Game One of the 2021 World Series is in the books.  For the record the Atlanta Braves won 6-2, to go up one game on the Houston Astros.

The time of the game was 4 hours and 5 minutes.  That's right 245 minutes for a baseball game.  And it didn't go extra innings.  Four hours and five minutes for a nine inning game.

As an indicator of how little action there was here are several key statistics. There were 23 strikeouts, six walks and nine pitching changes.

2021 World Series

I really could care less who wins this best of seven series.  First off the two best teams in baseball for the past six months aren't present.  It would have been nice to see the San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays battle for the top spot in baseball.  But, the addition of playoffs has bastardized the World Series.  Instead it will be the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves.

I won't be watching any of the games from start to finish because I don't care to invest four hours in a game.  Then multiply that by up to seven depending on the number of games that are played.  No thanks.  I have a life and if Major League Baseball (MLB) really wanted me to watch, the games would start about 4 p.m. where I live in the central time zone.  But, baseball has to show them in primetime for the FOX TV network which has literally millions of dollars wrapped up in rights payments to MLB.

I won't have much to say about the games outside of writing about them the same way I have the past couple of years.  I will be keeping track of the time of the games since they are very long and frequently become incredibly boring.  Based on the last two seasons my guess is the average length of game for this series will be about three hours and 30 minutes.  Time will tell.  Check back here after each game for an update.

A Snooze Fest

On Monday I posted about a long boring baseball game played between two American League baseball teams that lasted over 5 hours.  But, in fairness, the game lasted 13 innings.

Yesterday, the length and boredom of playoff baseball got even worse.  The Astros and White Sox took four hours and 32 minutes to play a nine inning game.  The game wasn't close.  Houston won it 10-1 and wrapped up the divisional playoff series between itself and Chicago.

There were a total of 18 strikeouts and eight walks.  But, the real boredom factor was fans had to sit through 11 pitching changes in which there was no action whatsoever.

MLB please wake up because your fans are all asleep. 

Classic? Hardly

ESPN, one of Major League Baseball's business partners, has taken it upon itself to declare last night's playoff game between Tampa Bay and Boston a "classic".  I've been watching baseball for over 60 years and this game was far from being a classic.

First off the game was just one of a best of five series, of four playoff series.  In the grand scheme of all baseball games played it is just a flyspeck on the windshield of all games played.

The game lasted 13 innings, which in MLB's bastardized version of baseball is fairly long.  But, that doesn't make it a classic.  In fact the game was boring and lasted 5 hours and 14 minutes.  Snooze. Yawn.  Boring.

And to top it off, 35 of the 105 at bats in the game had absolutely no action by the fielders.  28 batters struck out and there were an additional seven hitters who walked.  A full one third of the game was played without the ball being put into play.

Still, MLB plods along clueless as to why attendance is falling and TV ratings continue to shrink.  It's simple; the games are boring and they last way too long.

Game 6 = 3:28

The 2020 World Series* has come to an end with the average game lasting three hours and 37 minutes.  Game six was won by the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays and clinched the 2020 World Series*.  The Dodgers did not bat in the ninth and still the game,  lasted three hours and 28 minutes.  I missed on my original prediction by 12 minutes per game.  I had initially said the average 2020 World Series Game would last 3:25.

Part of the reason for yet another long boring game was that the Dodgers made six pitching changes.  This is not to criticize Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.  It is unfortunately, the way the game is being played with too many specialists that have ruined the flow of games and removed the sport as America's past time.  Overnight TV ratings for this World Series were down from last year when the Nationals beat the Astros.  In Game 5, less than eight million people watched the Sunday night game aired by Fox TV.  That compares to more than 12 million viewers who watched a mid-season regular season NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals which aired at the same time on NBC.

Baseball is an exciting game when played with a flow and at a good pace.  But, this bastardization of the game we have seen for the past too many years and this COVID shortened season has left it behind the growing fan base of the other big three professional sports.  Wake up MLB!

Game 5 = 3:30

Image Courtesy MLB

This was another long boring game played at a snail's pace.  Game 5 lasted three and a half hours and featured nine pitchers. The Dodgers beat the Rays 4-2 behind the pitching of Clayton Kershaw, who failed to last six innings. The Rays also hurt themselves with poor base running. The average time of game for the 2020 World Series* is now three hours and 36 minutes per game. Game 6 is scheduled for tomorrow night in Arlington, Texas. For some reason MLB in its infinite wisdom has decided to have another travel day today. This despite the fact all of the 2020 World Series* games are being played in Arlington at the same ballpark.

Game 4 = 4:10

The average length of game jumped to 3 hours and 37 minutes with this exceedingly long game that lasted four hours and ten minutes. Outside of a few seconds of excitement the evening was tedious. It appeared the Los Angeles Dodgers had this game won with their ace Kenley Jansen coming in to close it out. But, poor defense by Chris Taylor in the outfield and catcher Will Smith in the bottom of the ninth allowed the Rays to come back and tie the series at two games each. Game Five is scheduled for Sunday night.

Game Three = 3:14

The average time of game dropped slightly to 3 hours and 26 minutes each. My original prediction was the average length of game for the entire series would total 3:25. The Dodgers won this one 6-2 and both teams used a combined nine pitchers, which is one reason this one was much shorter than game two. The Dodgers now lead the Rays two games to one.

Game Two = 3:40

Image courrtesy MLB.

Game Two of the 2020 World Series lasted three hours and 40 minutes.  For the record it was won by the Tampa Bay Rays over the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4.  With the first two games played this year the average time of the games equals 3:32.  I forecast earlier this week the average length of game for the entire series would average 3:25.

Up next its game three tomorrow night from Arlington, Texas.  Oh, wait, that's where all the games are being played because of the pandemic.  So, MLB why was today a travel day when no one traveled?  My guess is Fox TV had something it thought might be less boring, like say, a presidential debate.