Lindholm: Postseason games are getting even longer

From SABR member Scott Lindholm at Beyond the Box Score on October 16, 2014:

The increase in game length has received plenty of attention, and there are numerous factors — time between pitches, number of pitchers used in games, televised games, replay, even the increase in the number of playoff slots that makes each game more valuable. The Arizona Fall League announced it will institute new rules to speed up play this winter.

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We can very safely state that after the wild pitch thrown by Aaron Bennett while attempting to intentionally walk Pablo Sandoval in Game 4 of the GiantsNationals series, the called intentional walk will probably not occur at the Major League level. The other rules, if strictly enforced, can have a positive effect in keeping the games moving. It’s necessary, as the average game length continues to creep up.

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There’s been an increase of around nine minutes per game since 2011, despite all the hand-wringing and hot air to do something to quicken the pace.

Postseason games are even longer.

Read the full article here: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/10/16/6977289/baseball-postseason-game-length



Originally published: October 16, 2014. Last Updated: October 16, 2014.