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NFT: Length of Postseason Baseball Games

Frank in Silver Spring : 10/27/2016 1:12 pm
Since it's a slow (and here in metro DC, rainy) Thursday afternoon, I'd like some baseball BBIers to chime in on the ever-growing length of baseball games. Lots of folks thought the 3-hour mark would be a rarity and now MLB has blown past the 4-hour mark on a frequent basis, it seems, during this postseason.

So my questions are: does it matter to you? When was the last time you sat on a couch and watched a game from beginning to end? Could you do so for a 4 hour game (I certainly can't)? Should something be done? If so, what?

If I'm king for a day, among other things, baseball would definitely have a time clock (2:45 seems good to me, no longer) and at least some WS day games. Oh, and the first pitch on the East Coast has to leave a pitcher's hand at 7:05 p.m. for night games.

So there. Have at it and thanks in advance.
nope, doesn't matter to me at all  
Greg from LI : 10/27/2016 1:13 pm : link
.
I love baseball more than most  
Shecky : 10/27/2016 1:17 pm : link
And I cannot watch even a post season game start to finish if I don't DVR it.
I don't mind too much  
kash94 : 10/27/2016 1:18 pm : link
but the games really have to start at better times. I went to Game 5 of Nats vs Dodgers and it was an 8:30 first pitch I think so the game ended at 1!

DC metro shut down at 11:40 PM as well. I really don't think the games should start later than 7 as you mentioned
RE: I don't mind too much  
Jim in Fairfax : 10/27/2016 1:25 pm : link
In comment 13193259 kash94 said:
Quote:
but the games really have to start at better times. I went to Game 5 of Nats vs Dodgers and it was an 8:30 first pitch I think so the game ended at 1!

DC metro shut down at 11:40 PM as well. I really don't think the games should start later than 7 as you mentioned

Problem is, that's 4pm on the west coast, so that would kill ratings there.
Baseball on TV is tedious. I gotta be playing music or cards  
Marty in Albany : 10/27/2016 1:28 pm : link
or something at the same time.

I go to (Hudson) "Valley Cats," baseball games. They're a Houston Astros minor league club). Those games are waaaay better than a TV game. They're fast and fun and there is something going on between innings instead of commercials. I get good seats that cost $7 or 8 bucks and parking is free. A fairly short drive from my house.

The last time I went, I didn't get to the stadium early enough and the game was sold out except for standing room. I was disappointed. I've never been disappointed to miss a game on TV.
I don't want them to rush the game  
RasputinPrime : 10/27/2016 1:30 pm : link
by adding new rules or restricting the way it is managed. If it takes 4 hours it takes 4 hours.

How many of us wouldn't sign up for a 4 hour football game?

more is more betterer
Rasputin  
Frank in Silver Spring : 10/27/2016 1:50 pm : link
For the future of baseball's sake, let's hope there's way more of you than I suspect there are.
I Agree The Games Are Too Long  
Trainmaster : 10/27/2016 2:10 pm : link
Shorter games would also help to solve the problem of starting too early (West Coast folks still at work) and ending too late (East Coast folks staying up too late).

7:05 PM Eastern is too early a start time IMHO. As I kid, I seem to remember baseball games ending between 10 PM and 10:30 PM Eastern. I think those games typically had 8:05 PM start times meaning the games lasted 2 to 2.5 hrs.

We of course know the main reason for the longer games is to provide time for more and longer commercial breaks. So shortening games will be an uphill battle against higher owner revenue and higher player salaries.

8:00 PM Eastern time start with a 2 hr 45 min game duration is a good goal.


Fastest 9 Inning Baseball Game Ever Played - 31 Minutes - ( New Window )
RE: I don't want them to rush the game  
Jim in Fairfax : 10/27/2016 2:14 pm : link
In comment 13193283 RasputinPrime said:
Quote:
by adding new rules or restricting the way it is managed. If it takes 4 hours it takes 4 hours.

How many of us wouldn't sign up for a 4 hour football game?

more is more betterer

Having a 60 minute football game take an extra hour to play does not appeal to me at all.
I have a bigger issue  
PaulBlakeTSU : 10/27/2016 2:17 pm : link
with how long regular season baseball games take considering there are 162 of them.

Postseason baseball takes a really long time, but the bigger issue is their start times.

I think it's strange to call for a postseason game to not take longer than 2:45 on a football board where a playoff football game takes nearly an hour longer.
They should have a 7 inning game  
spike : 10/27/2016 2:18 pm : link
Because we always miss the first two innings
Paul Blake  
Frank in Silver Spring : 10/27/2016 2:27 pm : link
Since I proclaimed myself "king for a day" up top, I'd like the length of game to fit my attention span and, for some reason, 2:45 seems about it. As for football, I really only watch one team each week (gee, which one...), so if it lasts 3:30, I'm OK with it because I won't watch any pro football until the next time said favorite team plays.
The idea has been tossed around by some, including Francesa  
mac attack : 10/27/2016 2:49 pm : link
of changing the rules of the game to 3 balls and 2 strikes, opposed to 4 balls and 3 strikes.

Now I'm not the biggest fan of the idea, as it would be a drastic change from the game we all know and love. However, it certainly would speed up the game and it would save pitchers from throwing as many pitchers. It still allows for 162 games and 9 innings (thus protecting the sacred record books and the even-more-sacred advertising dollar).

I wouldn't be surprised to see this format used in the minors or independent leagues at some point to test out the idea.
All the playoff and WS games should be in the daytime  
ed90631 : 10/27/2016 3:47 pm : link
That way nobody would be able to watch them.
The pitch clock  
Metnut : 10/27/2016 4:33 pm : link
will shave 5-10 minutes off of regular season games and 15-25 minutes off of postseason games. Length of time aside, it'll make the games more fun to watch.

MLB will get a great rating this year because of the Cubs, but long term you can't have 2 pitches per minutes and tons of pitching changes, commercials and all sorts of "non-action" and expect to bring new fans into the game IMO.
The four hour games are a train wreck.  
Maryland Giant : 10/27/2016 4:34 pm : link
And while infinitely more watchable college football isn't much better in this particular respect.
College football games are fucking forever  
PA Giant Fan : 10/27/2016 4:48 pm : link
I dont watch much but I did the other day with OU-TT and Penn State-Ohio state. Holy shit those games were forever
Those wanting to place a time limit on a baseball game  
Beezer : 10/27/2016 4:50 pm : link
should be kicked in the testiculation.
Length of game doesn't matter..  
Sean : 10/27/2016 4:52 pm : link
but action does. So many of these games don't have enough hitting.
Why do people want more hitting?  
Beezer : 10/27/2016 4:55 pm : link

- Walter Johnson
RE: Why do people want more hitting?  
Sean : 10/27/2016 5:27 pm : link
In comment 13193617 Beezer said:
Quote:

- Walter Johnson


are your kids watching baseball, or is it all NBA?
RE: RE: Why do people want more hitting?  
section125 : 10/27/2016 7:10 pm : link
In comment 13193640 Sean said:
Quote:
In comment 13193617 Beezer said:


Quote:



- Walter Johnson



are your kids watching baseball, or is it all NBA?


Basketball is unwatchable. Illegal picks, traveling overlooked, palming all the time, few teams play defense. Blah...
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