Afar, baseball can seem like a fairly complex game to understand. However, when you take a closer look, you will realize that baseball rules and laws are actually a lot simpler than what you thought.
For one, there is no set time limit for a game of baseball. A baseball game, on average, will take around three hours to complete. In MLB (Major League Baseball) teams will continue playing until a clear winner has emerged.
How Long Does a Baseball Game Last?
Generally, there is no specific duration or time limit for a game of baseball. However, an average game of baseball will have nine innings, which would take approximately three hours to complete. If there is no clear winner at the end of the ninth innings, the teams will continue playing extra innings until a winner has emerged.
Baseball games throughout the US attract a great deal of excitement from fans and spectators. Even though baseball leagues tend to be lengthy and full of different protocols, these things do not diminish the positive anticipation of baseball lovers from across the country.
As per statistics, an MLB game, like we mentioned, will usually have nine innings and will take around three hours to complete. A high-school baseball game, meanwhile, will have seven baseball innings spanning across a period of four hours or more. A single inning in a youth baseball game, meanwhile, can last for over 90 minutes.
The Length of a Baseball Game Based on Skill Level:
| Skill Level | Usual Number of Innings | Average Game Length |
| Major League Baseball | Nine | Three hours |
| Minor League Baseball | Nine | Three hours |
| Collegiate Games/College Baseball Games | Seven or nine | Three hours |
| High School Games | Seven | Two hours |
| Youth Games | Five or six | 90 minutes (one-and-a-half hours) |
How Long Does an Inning Last in Baseball?
According to the rules devised by the MLB, six outs make up a single baseball inning, with each team having a total of three outs. One baseball inning is completed in two halves. These rules are applied across all baseball skill levels (except for Tee-Ball).
The playing time will depend upon the pace of the pitcher, the at-bats count, and the number and length of pitching changes implemented. The team playing ‘away’ will be the first to bat, while the home team will take the bat in the second half of the game.
In rare situations, one half of an inning requires just three pitches to get the three outs. On the other extreme, a single inning can last forever if the throwing side fails to get three outs from the batting side. Either way, there is no specified time duration.
The Longest Game in Baseball History:
The longest baseball game ever recorded was played between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox during the 1984 MLB season.
Far from taking nine innings to complete, this game needed twenty-five innings to find the winner. This exhausting affair lasted a total of 525 minutes (8 hours and 25 minutes), and the eventual winner was the home team – Chicago White Sox.
Why Are Baseball Games Getting Longer?
Compared to the past, modern baseball games have become considerably longer. There are a variety of factors behind this increase in time length.
One of the main reasons that current baseball games take so long to complete, is the greater specialization inside the bullpen. This increased specialization leads to more pitching changes in the middle, and these changes then lead to more advertisements and commercial breaks.
During 2008 to 2011, pitchers took about 21.5 seconds between two pitches. However, this number went up to more than 22 seconds during 2012, and went all the way up to 23 in 2014.
Pitchers influence the pace of the game. They hold the ball in their hands, which means that they hold the rhythm of the game in their hands, and they can choose to manipulate this rhythm however they feel.
One way to boost the pace of the game without introducing any major changes is to ensure stricter implementation of an already existent rule. According to Rule 8.04 in the MLB rulebook, if the bases are not occupied, the pitcher is obligated to deliver the ball to the batter within a 12-second period.
However, pitchers are probably not the only people to be blamed for excessive in-game delays. Batters, too, tend to spend a lot of time outside their box, adjusting the gear. According to the MLB Rule 6.02, the league is within its rights to penalize these actions as well. Yes, it is hard for some strikers, but the league should probably consider limiting the amount of time that a batter can spend walking.
Yet another reason for the lengthening of games is the arguments between umpires and players. Many were optimistic that the introduction of expanded instant replays during 2014 would cut down on the time spent on arguments and would help to quicken the game. However, this strategic utilization of instant replays means that managers now get the chance to discuss each decision with the umpires. In other words, a change which was supposed to streamline the game has had quite the opposite impact.
These frequent pauses and stoppages affect the complexity of the game. For instance, you have a game going in full flow when suddenly the instant replay is brought into play. The crowd, that was rowdy until that point, is now suddenly drop-dead silent. Once the game resumes, the crowd will take time to come into its own once again, which steals precious momentum away from the team that was dominating before the stoppage.
Our Final Thoughts:
To sum up, an average postseason and regular game of baseball should last around nine innings and three hours. We hope that the information provided in this blog helped you learn more about the time duration (or the lack of it) for a baseball game, and resolved a few confusions.
To learn more about baseball, please feel free to check out some of the other blogs on our website.
