Sports Reference Blog
MLB Games are Lower Scoring and Longer Than Ever
Posted by Hans Van Slooten on March 25, 2015
It's been reported in numerous locations, and now we've added an additional page to our League Encyclopedias that confirms it: games have reached scoring lows not seen regularly since the 1960's (8.13 R/G) and are longer, on average, than they have ever been (3 hours and 7 minutes per game in 2014). Additionally, 9-inning games were over three hours long, on average, for the first time in MLB history last year (3 hours and 2 minutes).
This new page also includes historical averages for extra-innings games, pitches/PA, pitchers/game and season, batters/game and season, pinch runners/game, and pinch hitters/game.
To find these pages, click on the menu Seasons > All Seasons, then click on Misc on the right side of the page for any of the leagues.
Check you early numbers for nine inning games. Something must be wrong with the calculations since I don't believe average games were ever played in less an hour. Thanks. This is a nice addition to the site.
Jack, thank you for the heads up. We'll take a look.