The second game of the 2009 World Series is going to begin in just over an hour. I thought I would take this opportunity to vent/respond to some things I have been hearing lately, mostly negative comments on the game of baseball itself.
I begin with a few generalities. Baseball is a game of endurance. Everything in the game is built around this fact. The season itself is 162 games scheduled over 180 days. The game is comprised of 9 innings, during which each team has a chance to bat until they suffer 3 outs. It takes 3 strikes to get out, unless you hit the ball, and get out in the course of the play. Generally speaking, the game takes about 2 hours to play, and less than that is considered really fast (and is probably a game without a score). The fastest game on record is 51 minutes. There is no time limit for a baseball game, and unless there are extenuating circumstances, the game cannot end in a tie. The winning team is not only the one who scores one more run than the opposing team, but also is the team that outlasts their opponent.
Once a team wins the regular season, and advances to the post season, they must play several rounds of playoff series. The Division Series is the best of 5 games. The League Championship and the World Series are best of 7 series. To be the best, you must be the best consistently over a long period of time. It is grueling and it is challenging.
Thus, I am confused when people complain that the game is too long. I assume they mean that a particular game they want to watch is too long, and usually they mean a playoff game, because the majority of fans who watch games during the season either 1) don’t care about the length or 2) are ok watching part of the game. Usually if you complain about it being too long it is because you would want to watch the entire game, but don’t feel you have the time.
Before I address this, some more numbers: technically a football game is only an hour long (4 15 minute quarters), but with timeouts, side changes, and other considerations most football games take between 2 and 3 hours…the same as your average baseball game. Similarly, technically a basketball game is only 48 minutes long (4 12 minute quarters) but with time outs and other considerations most games take around 2 hours to play…about the same as a fast baseball game. And, for my international friends, a game of soccer is technically an hour and a half (2 45 minute halfs) but with a half time and other considerations, a soccer game could last 2 hours or more. Again, like a fast baseball game.
Now, at least on Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, alot of Americans will watch at least 1 football game, lasting around 2.5 hours. On Sunday, some fans will take in two games, taking up around 5 hours of their time. Add to this consideration pre and post game shows, and you’ve got close to 7 hours. And a really long baseball game is about 3, 3 and 1/2 hours.
Now, for baseball’s playoffs, the game tends to take a little longer, mostly because the commercial break is longer. I defy anyone to prove that baseball has longer commercials than Monday Night Football, or the SuperBowl though, which sometimes is just as much about the commercials as it is the game (Bud. Weis. Err.)
So, why the annoyance over the length of baseball games? The only conclusion I can come to is that, if one really has something more important to do, or kids to care for, or whatever, the game can seem longer than it is. Basketball and Soccer players are almost always running. Football players run for short bursts, and stand around in between. Baseball is focused on three men: the pitcher, the catcher, and the batter trying to cut in on their fun. This can give the illusion of alot of down time. The pitcher throws. The batter stands there. The catcher throws the ball back. The pitcher looks in to the catcher. The batter stands out. The pitcher looks in again. Checks the runner at first. The pitcher pitches. The batter swings and hits a ball into the stands, foul. In reality, it isn’t that long of a time. I have heard comments to the effect that “they should stop the batters from stepping out of the batter’s box, and stop the pitchers from stepping off the mound” and that this would speed up the game. Hardly. This interaction isn’t what takes time in a baseball game.
Most of the time in baseball is taken up when a team is actually hitting the ball and having a good inning, offensively. In last night’s game, for instance, the Phillies loaded the bases and looked fairly dangerous, in the top of the first inning. They eventually made 3 outs before scoring, but total half inning time was about 12 minutes. The bottom of the first, in which the Yankees did nothing, took about 4 minutes, a third of the time. And nothing much happened until the eighth inning, due to alot of pitchers pitching and hitters failing to hit, for both teams, except for this one guy who hit a home run, but it takes about a minute to run around the bases, three if you are Manny Ramirez, so this didn’t add much to the length of the inning. The Phillies added two more runs in the top of the eighth inning and took about 16 minutes to do it. The bottom of the eighth clocked in at about 5 minutes.
My point is this: all the supposed time that is being wasted by batters and pitchers is insignificant compared to the whopping time being wasted in innings when stuff actually happens. The Phillies took about 45 minutes to score 6 runs. The Yankees took about 15 minutes to score 1 run. The other two hours were full of 8 really quick innings, the average length of which was all of 10 minutes (5 for each half). I don’t see how a whole lot of time could be saved there, really.
So, my conclusion on the time aspect of baseball: it takes about the same amount of time to watch a baseball game as it does any other sport. Those that complain don’t really like baseball that much. Put this in terms of watching a chick flick with your girl instead of T2 and you see what am getting at.
As Game Two is about to start, I will save “Black and White Blindness: The Ump Factor” for next time. Play Ball!
a simple man 