There are 162 games in a Major League Baseball season, but that number can change. Find out everything you need to know here! How many games are there in a baseball season? It is a simple question, but the answer can be complex. The season lasts from April until October.

A Major League Baseball season consists of 162 regular season games, not including Spring Training Games, the All-Star Game, or the postseason. The schedule could be extended or reduced in certain situations due to weather delays and other scheduling issues. Teams can play fewer than 162 games if a game is rained out and cannot be made up immediately. In rare cases, teams may have to play an additional game at the end of the season if two teams remain tied for a playoff position after 162 games. The number of baseball games has increased over time as leagues expand; this allows players to amass statistics and find their groove before playoffs begin

Why do they play 162 games in MLB?

In 1961, Major League Baseball started adding teams. To continue playing each division rival twenty-two times would mean playing nearly two-hundred games. ‘ Owners ultimately put a stop to the 22 game format and settled on 162 games,’ says baseball historian John Thorn.

How many games are in a baseball season per team?

1998 to 2012 – Since 1998, there have been 30 major league teams with a single advance schedule for every season that comprises 2430 games. Each team plays 162 games, 81 as the ” home ” team, 81 as the “visitor”. (This is true even on the rare occasion when a game is played at a ballpark not home to either team.) Occasionally, the advance schedule is subsequently altered due to a game postponement or a one-game tie-breaker to determine which team will play in the postseason.

1. Before 2013, the schedule included 252 “interleague games” that matched one team from the American League and one from the National League; the other 2178 games matched a pair from within one league.
2. About half of the latter matched teams from within one division and about half matched teams from different divisions in one league.

In the Central Division of the National League, which alone had six teams, every pair of division rivals played 15 or 16 games. Within the other, smaller divisions every pair of teams played 18 or 19 games. These interleague games were played from mid-to-late May to late June or early July.

• 25 pairings will play 19 games each (475 games)
• 21 pairings will play 18 games each (378 games)
• 13 pairings will play 16 games each (208 games) – most NL Central pairings
• 2 pairings will play 15 games each (30 games) – two NL Central pairings
• Total: 1091 games.

Other intraleague games (1087). There are 150 pairs of teams from two different divisions within one league.

• 23 pairings will play 10 games each (230 games)
• 15 pairings will play 9 games each (135 games)
• 8 pairings will play 8 games each (64 games)
• 34 pairings will play 7 games each (238 games)
• 70 pairings will play 6 games each (420 games)
• Total: 1087 games.

When did MLB switch to 162 games?

How Long is the MLB Season? Teams are gearing up for the next MLB season! Learn how long the MLB season is, discover facts and dates, and get ready to enjoy this season with fuboTV. How Long is an MLB season? The beginning of spring always marks an exciting time for a sports fan.

• It means the beginning of the MLB season, which lasts approximately six months.
• That can be extended or shortened depending on certain variables.
• This year, the first game of the regular season begins on March 30, and the final game of the regular season is Oct.1.
• That means that the regular season schedule will be played in eight months this year.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY : ! That long of a season, which is more than any other professional sport, is because baseball is not as physically demanding. While the three other major American sports are constantly in contact, baseball is the opposite. We’ll provide a guide to help baseball fans follow the MLB season and all of its details.

• How many games in a regular season? The Major League Baseball season is 162 games long,
• While that may seem like a lot comparatively speaking, MLB believes it is the correct number of regular season games to determine who makes it to the playoffs and will eventually win the championship.
• It also helps baseball players amass statistics.

The 162-game season does not include any spring training games, the All-Star game or the postseason. However, sometimes during the season because of weather or other circumstances, games are postponed. What makes a season longer or shorter? If the postponed games do not impact the standings, the games will not be played and teams will not total 162 baseball games played.

1. On the flip side, teams may play an additional game at the end of the season if there is a tie for a playoff position after 162 games.
2. Player strikes or lockouts have also occurred throughout baseball history.
3. In the last 30 years, MLB has had two strikes and two lockouts, with the biggest coming in the 1994 season, which canceled nearly the last two months of the season and then the entire playoffs, meaning no champion was crowned.

The History Behind MLB’s Schedule Changes In 1961, the American League established the 162-game schedule in its first season. As a result, the National League followed suit in 1962. Before that, teams played 154 games. In baseball, series are common occurrences, in which two teams compete for three or four consecutive games, instead of a single game.

• Certain instances have caused the season schedule and the number of games to change.
• Those have included the season ending on Sept.2 instead of Sept.29 by decree of U.S.
• Secretary of War Newton D. Baker.
• Teams played 123-129 decisions that year (1918).
• The National League expanded to 10 teams one year later than the American League.

Leagues played uneven schedules in 1961. The games scheduled on the first ten days of the 1972 season were canceled due to a player strike. The season was shortened due to the 2020 pandemic. Interleague play is one big schedule change over the last four decades.

• For a long time, teams would not play each other if they were in a different league.
• The only time that happened was in the World Series.
• However, from 1997 to 2001, teams played against the same division from the other league.
• For example, the American League West played teams from the National League West, typically scheduled to alternate between home and away in consecutive years.

In 2002, however, the league began alternating which divisions played which divisions. Thus, in 2002 the American League East played the National League West, the American League Central played the National League East, and the American League West played the National League Central.

Matchups that had been of particular interest prior to this format — mainly geographic rivals — were preserved. Corresponding divisions were skipped once when this rotation began, but were put back in rotation in 2006. From 2002 to 2012, all interleague games were played prior to the All-Star game except for games postponed by weather that were made up after the All-Star Game.

Most games were played in June and early July, although beginning in 2005, interleague games were played during one weekend in mid-May. What New Changes are Coming in the 2023 Season? For the first time, every team will play every other team regardless of league.

1. The number of divisional games for each team will decrease from 76 to 52.
2. Each team will face each divisional foe 13 times across four series.
3. The 52 games will also be split up evenly between home and road games, though there will be an imbalance within each individual matchup (seven home games and six road games, or vice-versa).

A handful of other new rule changes will begin to take effect during the 2023 season. There is a 30-second timer between batters and a time limit between pitches. After receiving the ball from the catcher or umpire, pitchers are required to begin their motion within 15 seconds with the bases empty or within 20 seconds with runners on base.

If they don’t, they’re charged with an automatic ball. Hitters also share the responsibility to keep the game moving. They must be in the batter’s box and ready for the pitch by the time the clock reaches eight seconds. If not, they’re charged with an automatic strike. A batter can call time out only once per plate appearance.

The bases are now 18 inches square (previously 15 inches). That decreases the distance between first, second and third base by 4.5 inches. (Home plate – which stays the same size – to first base is 3 inches shorter.) While it’s not new in 2023, MLB did say this past offseason it was permanently implementing a provision in use since 2020 that every half inning after the ninth begins with a runner on second base.

The idea was first instituted in 2020 to cut down on long games and prevent pitchers from being overused in the pandemic-shortened season. It added a new layer of strategy and increased scoring considerably in extra innings. However, that rule is not implemented in the playoffs. Those games will be played under the traditional rules.

Unmissable MLB Events and Where to Watch

Opening Day – March 30 MLB World Tour – June 24-25 All-Star Game – July 10-13 Game 162 – October 1

Stream all of these events and many more on Instead of just watching one game on basic cable, get the chance to see more than one game in your region. MLB Season Facts & Highlights

In a Major League Baseball season, teams play 162 games, not including Spring Training Games, the All-Star Game, or the postseason. Teams can play fewer than 162 games under certain circumstances. If a game is rained out, it cannot be rescheduled immediately. There are twenty-six and one-half weeks in the MLB regular season.

The 2023 season is unique with so many new rules and updates to make the game quicker and more exciting. You don’t want to miss it! : How Long is the MLB Season?

How many MLB games are there in 2023?

Schedule – On August 24, 2022, Major League Baseball released their 2023 schedule. There are 162 games scheduled for all teams. This will be the first MLB season of a new balanced schedule in which every team will play each other at least once, similar to the NBA and NHL,

The new balanced schedule includes 13 games against their division rivals, totaling 52 games. Each team will play six games against six opponents and seven games against four opponents in the same league for a total of 64 games. Each team will also play 46 interleague games, including a four-game home-and-home series against their designated interleague rival.

As part of the “MLB World Tour”, the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres played a two-game series at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City on April 29–30, while the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs played a two-game series at London Stadium in London on June 24–25.

The 93rd All-Star Game was played on July 11, hosted by the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, The MLB Little League Classic will feature the Philadelphia Phillies against the Washington Nationals on August 20. Opening Day, March 30, featured all thirty teams, the first time since 1968 that every team has started their season on the same day.

The MLB at Field of Dreams game will not be held due to the construction of a new youth baseball and softball complex at the Field of Dreams site near Dyersville, Iowa,

Has any MLB team ever gone 162 0?

In a 162-game schedule a.734 winning percentage would lead to 120 wins, a feat no real-life team has ever achieved.

Why did MLB remove game 163?

MLB gets rid of Game 163 for expanded playoffs – It makes sense as to why this would happen. The first round is now more than a play-in game, making it more of a time crunch to get those postseason contests to begin. Playing baseball in the snow may be a fun novelty, but no one wants to have to worry about a World Series game being snowed out.

1. But this also takes away one of the more unique aspects of the game.
2. The regular season is already a marathon, a 162 game grind where the best teams should rise to the top.
3. To have the final spot determined in one last contest was something that showed how much every game in the regular season could matter.

This is not the first change to the tiebreaker. The National League a three game series to determine that playoff spot prior to 1980. That series happened four times, with the Dodgers included in each of those matchups. This led to such statistical anomalies as Maury Wills appearing in a major league record 165 games in 1962, a record that will never be broken.

1. Chances are, this tiebreaker scenario will not be needed too often.
2. The sudden death series or Game 163 has only been needed 12 times in MLB history.
3. However, it was needed twice in 2018 as the NL West and NL Central divisions ended in a regular season tie.
4. To lose a division, and possibly a playoff spot, due to some formula is the ultimate gut punch.

Game 163 was something special for MLB, a unique way to determine that final spot in the postseason. And now, it is gone.

Published on 03/10/2022 at 6:30 PM EDT Last updated on 03/10/2022 at 6:30 PM EDT

: Say goodbye to Game 163 for MLB playoffs

Do MLB teams play twice a day?

History – For many decades, major-league doubleheaders were routinely scheduled numerous times each season. However, any major-league doubleheader now played is generally the result of a prior game between the same two teams being postponed due to inclement weather or other factors.

Most often the game is rescheduled for a day on which the two teams play each other again. Often it is within the same series, but in some cases, may be weeks or months after the original date. On rare occasions, the last game between two teams in that particular city is rained out, and a doubleheader may be scheduled at the other team’s home park to replace the missed game.

Currently, major-league teams playing two games in a day usually play a “day-night doubleheader”, in which the stadium is emptied of spectators and a separate admission is required for the second game. However, such games are officially regarded as separate games on the same date, rather than as a doubleheader.

True doubleheaders are less commonly played. Classic doubleheaders, also known as day doubleheaders, were more common in the past, and although they are rare in the major leagues, they still are played at the minor league and college levels. In 1959, at least one league played a quarter of its games as classic doubleheaders.

The rate declined to 10% in 1979. Eventually, eight years passed between two officially scheduled doubleheaders. Reasons for the decline include clubs’ desire to maximize revenue, longer duration of games, five-day pitching rotation as opposed to four-day rotation, time management of relievers and catchers, and lack of consensus among players.

Why does MLB play so many games?

Conclusion – As Major League Baseball expanded and more teams were added, more games were added to accommodate all the teams. More games also allowed each team to compete more than once and allowed accurate statistics to be gathered. Since baseball is a non-contact sport, players can play more games per season, giving all MLB fans a chance to see their team play.

How do baseball series work?

Series (baseball) In, a series refers to two or more consecutive games played between the same two teams. Historically and currently, professional baseball season revolves around a schedule of series, each typically lasting three or four games. In college baseball, there are typically midweek single games and weekend series, with all conference games in series of three games, with the second and fourth rounds of the NCAA Division I playoffs being best two out of three game series.

These series are often geographically grouped, allowing teams to visit adjacent cities conveniently. This is known in baseball as a road trip, and a team can be on the road for up to 20 games, or 4-5 series. When a team hosts series at home (mainly two-four consecutive series), it is called a homestand,

During the Major League Baseball Postseason, there are four (two in each League), each of which are a best-of-3 series. The remainder of the Postseason consists of the, which is a best-of-5 series, and the, which is a series, followed by the, a series to determine the Major League Baseball Champion.

Has anyone played 162 games in MLB?

Only 2 Mets have played full 162. Will that change in ’22? This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter,, And to get it regularly in your inbox. Forty years ago, it was common to see Major League ballplayers appear in 162 games.

1. Eight achieved the feat in 1982.
2. Twelve more played in at least 160, while 47 players appeared in no fewer than 155 – the equivalent of one week’s vacation over a six-month season.
3. In today’s game, that sort of thing doesn’t happen with anything close to the same frequency.
4. Only two big leaguers (Marcus Semien and Whit Merrifield) appeared in all 162 games last season, while merely 29 played in at least 155 – a 38.3% reduction from four decades ago.

The reasons for this decrease are mostly anchored around modern concepts of injury prevention. Teams routinely give players scheduled days off work to rest their bodies over a six-month season. Then again, a full 162 has always been rare in Queens; only Félix Millan in 1975 and John Olerud in 1999 have achieved the feat for the Mets.

If anyone has a chance to join that club in 2022, it’s, During his rookie season, Alonso became the seventh player in franchise history to appear in 161 games. Since his debut, he’s played in 406 of a possible 420 games (97%). Alonso takes pride in his ability to be available every day, and he’s made his desire to continue doing so known to team management.

“If I’m not hurt, I want to be out there,” Alonso said. “They know exactly where I stand. I’m young. My body feels good. I’m available, and if I’m available, I want to be out there.” While shortstop has also appeared in all 36 games for the Mets, he plays a more demanding defensive position and owns a lengthier recent injury history, both of which hinder his chances to maintain this pace.

When asked, Lindor said he expects to rest once the Mets have their first long stretch without a team off-day. That essentially puts Alonso alone in his pursuit. It’s worth noting that if the designated hitter had always existed in the National League, Alonso might have already achieved 162. While DH is a position that Alonso doesn’t prefer, the half-days of rest it provides put Mets trainers at ease.

Beyond that, Alonso says he does “a really good job of listening to my body, giving it what it needs.” His checklist includes proper nutrition and sleep habits, as well as a recognition of when less might be more – fewer swings in the batting cage if he’s tired, or fewer reps in the weight room.

1. After all, the goal is not only to play in 162 games, but to do so while remaining fresh for a couple dozen extra games in October.
2. If we go all the way to the last week of the year, that’s an extra four or five weeks of ball,” Alonso said.
3. Yeah, 180, 185, whatever it is? That’s the goal.” : Only 2 Mets have played full 162.

Will that change in ’22?

Why are MLB games longer?

This article is based on the presentation I gave at SABR 48 in Pittsburgh in 2018 to address the issue of game length which has become a hot issue in recent years. In 2014, then-commissioner Bud Selig announced the formation of a committee to investigate the issue.

• Since taking office, current commissioner Rob Manfred has taken steps to reduce game time including rules changes that limit mound visits, a countdown clock between innings, and has spoken openly about the possibility of introducing a “shot clock” for every pitch.
• The commissioner’s concerns are not new.

Ban Johnson, the original and long-time president of the American League, was agitated by what he considered slow games as long ago as 1909. As the headline in a December 2, 1909, issue of The Sporting News reads: “Why Games Drag: Too Much Practice Time Taken Between Innings.” In the article, Johnson had noted that several games had exceeded two hours and he decided that teams took too much time throwing the ball around the infield at the start of each inning after the pitcher’s warmup throws. He was supported by veteran umpire Tom Brown who said: “The practice work does not belong in the game.” In 1925, Johnson was still banging that drum. The article noted: “Contests in the A.L. this season have frequently run more than two hours and Johnson wants to know the reason why. A report must be sent to President Johnson on all games running over two hours, with the reasons for the delays. If it is because of arguments, the guilty athletes will be punished”.

For the record, 269 of the 616 AL game that year were over 120 minutes—44%—and the league average was 120.8 minutes.1 One can only imagine what Johnson’s reaction would be to our current average game time, which is now over three hours! Why do games take so long? Various culprits have been blamed depending on who’s answering, making it high time for a sabermetric look at the issue.

I decided to take a long view to examine many years to look for patterns and trends that can be measured quantitatively. The data for this study come from Retrosheet ( www.retrosheet.org ) and I was able to study 183,224 games over the course of 108 seasons, 1908 through 2017 minus 1918-19.2 In order to make fair comparisons, it is necessary to remove games whose times were skewed, including extra-inning games, and games that ended early due to rain, curfew, or other reasons.

How has the length of the average game changed? It has definitely grown over time. Figure 1 shows the data from 1908-2017, excluding 1918 and 1919, but including the extra innings games this time to see the extreme values. Figure 1. Average minutes for all games, 1908-2017 The figure shows the expected annual variations and periods of rise as well as decline. However, when a linear regression is performed to determine the best fit line, the result shows an extremely strong direct relationship with the R 2 value (coefficient of determination) indicating that 94% of the variance in the game length is accounted for by the passage of the years.

At SABR 47 in New York, Steve Steinberg asked me what the relation was between number of pitches and game length. Retrosheet’s pitch data hav two distinct components. For the years 1947–64 we have 2,739 games from Allan Roth of the Dodgers, and from 1988 to present we have 68,566 games from Project Scoresheet, Baseball Workshop and MLBAM. There are several points to make about Figure 2. The R 2 value of 0.73 mean that the number of pitches in a game explains nearly three quarters of the variance in the time of game. That is a strong relation, although we would always like it to be more.

• I did analyze the 8.5- and 9-inning games separately and also the Roth games separately from the modern ones.
• The Roth data fit in extremely well with the modern information so there is no need to present separate graphs.
• Also the calculated slopes of the lines for 8.5 and 9 inning games are only slightly different and I therefore combined them in this one figure.

This figure includes very large ranges in both pitch totals and game times. These extremes and the averages are summarized in Table 3. Table 3: Ranges and Averages of Pitch Totals and Game Length in Regulation-Length Games

Playing the bottom of the ninth adds an average of 10 minutes and 15 pitches to the game. Having seen this clear importance of the number of pitches on the time of game, I then set about looking for explanations of what would make the number of pitches increase. Runs are, of course, the net result of all offensive action. As we see here, scoring has varied over the last 110 years, but there is no obvious upward trend to match the time of game. We have still not returned to the level of scoring seen in the first 15 years of the lively ball era although the average game length then was more than an hour less than it is now.

• So more scoring doesn’t give us our answer.
• The average number of hits per game and the changes there are pretty close to the pattern for runs, but once again there is no systematic upward trend.
• Walks take more pitches than other kinds of events (more details on that in a moment), but they also show little systematic change.

On the other hand, strikeouts have changed dramatically. As the lively ball era began, the number of strikeouts per game fell, being less than six per game for both teams combined until 1930. The average stayed in the mid-7 range until 1952 when it began a steady increase to a peak of 11.

• In 1967. After the mound was lowered and the strike zone reduce in 1969, the average began to drop, reaching 9. in 1981.
• However, since then there has been a steady rise (with some short-term oscillations) and the value really took off in 2006.
• The strikeout rate in 2017 was 16.2 per game, the first time it has passed 16.

We must address home runs as well and those annual rates are in Figure 4. Figure 4. Home runs per regulation-length game, 1908 – 2017, both teams combined. Home runs have certainly increased since 1908, but there have been boom and bust years. As expected, there was a surge with the introduction of the lively ball in 1920, but that ended dramatically in 1940, with a drop of 42% to 0.7 per game in 1943, perhaps reflecting changes in the construction of the ball due to wartime shortages.

1. That slack time was followed by a dramatic upsurge from 1945 to 1961 when it reached 1.9 per game.
2. The next dramatic point was in 1987 (circled in Figure 4) which has been written about a great deal.
3. There is no satisfactory explanation for this 16% spurt in a single year although there was much speculation at the time about a “juiced” ball.

Sports Illustrated published a study in which the physical properties of the 1987 ball were studied and nothing was detected to account for this large increase. The decline of 28% the next year is equally mysterious. At any rate, the next sustained increase was from 1992 to 2000, followed by a slow decline to 2014 when it was 1.7.

1. In the four seasons since (2014 to 2017), we have seen an extraordinary 46% increase to last year’s all-time high of just under 2.5 per game.
2. The R 2 shows a strong relationship over time.
3. I go through all this detail to make the point that there is a strong relationship between home run increase and strikeout increase.

This is shown clearly in Figure 5. Figure 5. Home runs and strikeouts, 1908-2017. The R 2 value of 0.69 shows a strong relation. The only other pair of variables with this close relation are hits and runs. I am led to a conclusion that others have reached as well, namely that the correspondence between home run rate and strikeout rate is one of cause and effect.

One consequence of sabermetric analysis has been that strikeouts no longer have the stigma they once did. Statcast data show launch angles and swing velocities and batters have clearly used this information to adjust their swings so that they hit the ball further. Of course, as these harder swings happen, it is much more likely that the ball will be missed, so we have a pretty clear all-or-nothing phenomenon.

I then calculated the average number of pitches for four types of event since 1988, the period for which we have pitch data for every game.

balls in play strikeouts walks and hit by pitch

These are shown in Figure 6. Figure 6. Number of pitches for each type of event. Balls in play, walks, and hit by pitch show a slight, but discernible increase with the average walk now taking 5.8 pitches to complete. These increases, especially in walks, may indicate greater patience on the part of hitters or greater concern (“nibbling”) by pitchers.

Strikeouts have not had a comparable increase in the average number of pitches, showing a remarkably stable pattern. One last way to look at this is to examine how often each type of event occurs. Figure 7 has these results, again from 1988 to 2017. This time outs on balls in play are separated from hits.

Figure 7. Percentage of different events, 1988 to 2017 There a clear inverse relation between outs on balls in play and strikeouts. Hits, walks, and hit by pitch have stayed quite steady. On average, strikeouts take 1.5 pitches more than other kinds of out, so this trade of strikeouts for outs on balls in play will also add time to the game.

• In fact, all of the factors point in the same direction of contributing to increasing game length.
• Another important measurement is the number of plate appearances per game and their pattern of change, shown in Figure 8.
• This is to be expected since the scoring of more runs necessarily requires more plate appearances.

This pattern is rather similar to what we saw for scoring, which is reasonable since games with more runs will of necessity have more batters. The rapid increase in plate appearances as the lively ball was introduced and the decline with the higher mound and larger strike zone in the mid-1960s stand out, as did the changes in runs scored. Finally we must consider actions affecting game length which are not directly related to the actual playing of the game. Many of these have been blamed for lengthening game times. My choices for these are as follows:

Time between pitches (attributable to both batter and pitcher) Time between innings Replay reviews Visits to the mound Relief pitchers, especially mid-inning changes

Time between pitches has received attention from several sources in recent years. Baseball Prospectus has documented differences in pitch interval between bases empty situations and those with runners on base. Jim Albert has used PitchFX data very impressively to demonstrate among other thing that intervals are longer in the later stages of the game. Fangraphs published overall data on the time between pitches for all games since 2008.3 These results are especially interesting to me. They measured an increase in the average time between pitches of 21.6 to 24.7 seconds between 2008 and 2017 with over 40% of the difference happening in 2017. The interval has both increased and decreased over this period. If we apply the full value of 2.6 seconds to the average number of pitches in a regulation game, the conclusion is that this increased interval has added 8 minutes to the average regulation game in these last 10 years. Since the average regulation game has increased by 14.5 minutes in that time, the 8 minutes are a significant part of the increase. Grant Brisbee published an intriguing article at sbnation.com in which he did an extraordinarily detailed analysis of two comparable games, one from 1984, the other from 2014, which were available on YouTube.4 The more recent game was over 30 minutes longer and Brisbee’s biggest conclusion is that he felt it was due to “lollygagging” by both pitchers and batters. Time between innings is not routinely measured or reported so it is hard to know how long it takes to change sides, especially in earlier seasons. There have been various rules on the timing of these breaks and it is clear that the current limit of two minutes is being enforced more stringently. Replays have been with us for about a decade now and so far this year they occur about one time for every two games, similar to the rate in 2017. They were somewhat more frequent earlier in the decade. For 2018, these reviews are formally listed through June 30 as taking one minute and 23 seconds, with an average on 59 seconds “on the headset.” This does not count the potential delay of 30 seconds granted to teams to decide if they want to challenge. On the other hand, the replay system has greatly reduced the number of managerial arguments on the field, which will lead to a shorter game. So, although it will be hard to get exact numbers for the time taken by reviews, this is obviously another factor that may make games longer. Visits to the mound by the catcher, infielder, or someone from the bench (pitching coach or manager) also consume time, but I know of no data that systematically measure the time used by visits. MLB has taken some steps in this regard in 2018 by limiting mound visits to six per game per team. The visits were limited to 30 seconds beginning in 2016, the first restriction of this kind. There was consideration of imposing a 20 second limit between pitches as well this year, but that rule was not adopted. Relief pitcher usage is potentially the biggest effect on time of game. There are two kinds of relief appearances: those at the start of an inning and those that happen during an inning. It seems reasonable that the mid-inning changes should take more time than a change at the start of an inning which should be virtually identical in terms of time consumed to having the same pitcher stay in the game. Figure 10 has the data for these two aspects of relief pitcher usage. Figure 9. Average number of relief pitchers per game, both teams combined. > The line for total relievers per game goes back to 1908 because our data allow that determination. The line for mid-inning relievers starts in 1939 because that measurement requires full play by play for every game and Retrosheet’s complete seasons currently begin with 1939.

• The line for total relievers has several distinct portions.
• First, there is a dip during each of the World Wars, although the first drop was bigger.
• However, there is a fairly steady overall increase from 1908 through 1968 and then a decline for most of the next decade after the changes in mound height and strike zone.

The advent of the DH had no immediate effect. From 1975 to the present, we have another long period of increase, much faster than the earlier one. The average passed 6 relievers per game for the first time in 2015 and reached 6.4 in 2017. By the way, through games of June 30, 2018, the average in 2018 is over 6.5, right in line with the recent pace of an additional tenth of a reliever per game for each year.

However, the surprising results to me are the mid-inning changes. These have increased by more than a factor of two since 1939, but essentially not at all since 1994. This indicates to me that the use of additional relief pitchers has had minimal effect on the time of games. These extra pitchers appear to be the “role” players who are dedicated to the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.

Changes in bullpen use are not the culprit for why the game keeps getting longer. Although there are more batters per game than there were a century ago, the biggest part of the increase is that each plate appearance besides strikeouts takes more pitches than 30 years ago. The inclusion of the Allan Roth data reveals interesting patterns.5 The general average for his era is some 25 pitches fewer per game than current levels, but the first few years of the 1988 to 2017 interval are similar to his values. Of course, we do not know the shape of the line for 1965 to 1987, but I note that the last two years that Roth covered, 1963 and 1964, are clearly the lowest of any seasons for which we have data.

These were, of course, the first two years of the altered mound and strike zone. My major conclusion is that the single biggest factor contributing to the longer games is the number of pitches. The rise in strikeouts and related drop in outs on balls in play accounts for much of the difference over time.

I have identified other factors (and other researchers have as well), but the number of pitches stands out as predominant. DAVID W. SMITH joined SABR in 1977 and has made research presentations at 22 national SABR conventions. In 2001 at SABR 31, he won the USA Today Sports Weekly Award for his presentation on the 1951 NL pennant race.

1. In 2016 he won the Doug Pappas Award for his presentation on closers.
2. In 2005 he received SABR’s highest honor, the Bob Davids Award, and in 2012 he was honored with the Henry Chadwick Award,
3. He is founder and president of Retrosheet and an Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Delaware.

Notes 1 Of the 546 regulation-length game in 1925, 216 were over 120 minutes (40 %) and the average time was 118 minutes.2 The exclusion of 1918 and 1919 reflects the unavailability of time of game for those two seasons for more than a handful of games.

Has there ever been a game 164 in MLB?

Several players have competed in 163 games during a regular season, but one has played in an MLB record 165 and another 164. Both of those feats were accomplished during the 1962 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants ended the season tied with the same record in the 10-team league.

How many innings are in baseball?

Where did the idea of 9 innings come from? – In Major League Baseball (MLB), an official game must have nine innings played in order for the game to be considered complete. This regulation has been a part of baseball’s history since 1857 when Alexander Cartwright first laid out the rules and regulations for playing the game of baseball.

The reason behind this rule is that it allows major league pitchers to face 27 batters, which can help teams decide who they want to keep on their roster during championship series. In addition, if a team is winning after eight or more innings are completed in MLB games, then an automatic runner will be placed at second base as per division rules.

However, if the score remains tied after nine innings, then extra innings may continue until one side gets ahead.

How many hours is a baseball game?

Note: In the 2022 season, the average duration of an M.L.B. game was 3 hours 6 minutes. Source: M.L.B.

How many MLB games were there in 1922?

1922 Major League Baseball season

Can you wear 0 in MLB?

Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino wears No.0 – which other MLBers donned the digit? August 9, 2013 In Major League Baseball, players are allowed to wear zero as their uniform number (yes, it’s a number. Also, ). It’s rare, but it happens. Currently, there is one player in baseball who wears zero, and that’s, pitcher for the Colorado Rockies.

He wore 37 last year, but ditched it in favor of zero, that he wore it back in high school due to its similarity to his last name’s leading letter. Zero, while rare, has a well-earned place in baseball’s history. Outfielder/first baseman chose the number after moving from the Pirates to the Rangers prior to the 1978 season.

He’s worn it the longest of any MLB player in history – notching eight seasons as No.0. A total of 14 players have worn zero in MLB history, including Ottavino, with 11 of them wearing it only two seasons or fewer. Some of those who’ve cameoed in it include, who wore it in his lone season with the Royals, and, who chose it for his stint with the White Sox. Other zeroes include:,,,,,,,, and, Not only can baseball players elect to wear zero, but they could also choose double zero if they so desired – and a total of 20 players have done exactly, including and, each of whom wore it for a single season late in their respective careers. Only Kerry Robinson, who played for five different teams during his seven seasons in the Majors, wore both zero and double zero at some point. The total list of double zeroes includes:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and, In case you’re wondering, players who wore zero tended to have better seasons. According to Baseball Reference’s – a statistic designed to quantify a player’s value in all aspects of the game – zeroes averaged 0.8 wins per season, while double zeroes only averaged 0.2 in their years wearing the digit.

When you consider that players who wore 37 have an average career WAR of 4.9 while players who wore zero at least once average 11.2, it’s hard to argue with Ottavino’s decision – he was just trying to make himself a better pitcher. That’s how statistics work, right? (Photos of George Scott and Al Oliver via ) In Major League Baseball, players are allowed to wear zero as their uniform number (yes, it’s a number.

Also, ). It’s rare, but it happens. Currently, there is one player in baseball who wears zero, and that’s, pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. He wore 37 last year, but ditched it in favor of zero, that he wore it back in high school due to its similarity to his last name’s leading letter. A total of 14 players have worn zero in MLB history, including Ottavino, with 11 of them wearing it only two seasons or fewer. Some of those who’ve cameoed in it include, who wore it in his lone season with the Royals, and, who chose it for his stint with the White Sox. Other zeroes include:,,,,,,,, and, Not only can baseball players elect to wear zero, but they could also choose double zero if they so desired – and a total of 20 players have done exactly, including and, each of whom wore it for a single season late in their respective careers. Only Kerry Robinson, who played for five different teams during his seven seasons in the Majors, wore both zero and double zero at some point. The total list of double zeroes includes:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and, In case you’re wondering, players who wore zero tended to have better seasons. According to Baseball Reference’s – a statistic designed to quantify a player’s value in all aspects of the game – zeroes averaged 0.8 wins per season, while double zeroes only averaged 0.2 in their years wearing the digit. When you consider that players who wore 37 have an average career WAR of 4.9 while players who wore zero at least once average 11.2, it’s hard to argue with Ottavino’s decision – he was just trying to make himself a better pitcher. That’s how statistics work, right? (Photos of George Scott and Al Oliver via ) “,”author”:,”canonical”:”/cut4/adam-ottavino-and-players-who-wore-number-zero/c-56044476″,”formattedDate”:”August 9, 2013″,”articleType”:”cut4″,”photo”:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ]},”readMore”:},”isLegacyArticle”:true,”locale”:”en”}> : Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino wears No.0 – which other MLBers donned the digit?

What is the rarest number in MLB?

Yankees RHP Yajure introduces last remaining digits into MLB play – September 1st, 2020 There are no more new baseball jersey numbers under the sun – the last unused Major League uniform number has been taken. The Yankees called up Miguel Yajure on Aug.20 and issued him No.89 – the only number left from 0 to 99 that had never been worn in a Major League Baseball regular-season game.

Yajure made his Major League debut for New York on Aug.31, meaning every number has now appeared on a big league diamond. The 2020 season began with three never-before-used jersey numbers, according to Baseball Reference’s register: 86, 89 and 92. The Cardinals checked two of those off the list. Reliever Génesis Cabrera wore No.92 for the first time in MLB history when he took the mound on Aug.15, and reliever Jesus Cruz wore No.86 when he pitched three nights later.

Cruz won an unofficial race for 86 with Marlins lefty Brandon Leibrandt, who also has the number but didn’t debut until Aug.23. That left only No.89 for Yajure, who has now completed the circle of Major League uni numbers. He pitched three hitless innings in his scoreless debut, striking out two Rays while walking three.

What is the longest 0 0 MLB games?

The longest games in MLB history One of the many great things about baseball is that time can never run out. In baseball, a comeback is always possible. The game’s not over until you get the 27th out – or, sometimes, a lot more than that. Extra-inning games are nothing unusual in Major League Baseball, of course.

1. But some games in MLB history have truly gone to the extreme.
2. Every once in a while, two teams meet on the field and produce a game far longer than a single game has any business going – even beyond the 20-inning mark.
3. MLB.com takes a look back at those marathon contests.
4. Here are the longest games played, by number of innings, in Major League history since 1900.1.

May 1, 1920: Brooklyn Robins 1, Boston Braves 1Length: 26 innings The longest game by innings in Major League history could have gone even longer – after 26 innings, the game was called due to darkness. The Robins (the predecessors to the Dodgers) and Braves were tied at 1, and that’s how the game ended.

• The entire episode took just three hours and 50 minutes.
• Brooklyn’s run came courtesy of leadoff man Ivy Olson, who lined an RBI single over Hall of Fame shortstop Rabbit Maranville’s head in the fifth.
• Boston’s Tony Boeckel drove in the tying run with a single to center in the bottom of the sixth.
• The teams traded zeros for 20 innings until night fell at Braves Field.

The next day’s New York Times story joked that umpire Barry McCormick “remembered that he had an appointment pretty soon with a succulent beefsteak. He wondered if it wasn’t getting dark. He held out one hand as a test and decided that in the gloaming it resembled a Virginia ham.

He knew it wasn’t a Virginia ham and became convinced that it was too dark to play ball. Thereupon, he called the game, to the satisfaction of himself and (fellow umpire Bob Hart) and the chagrin of everybody else concerned.” This game is unbelievable by today’s standards. Not just for its sheer length, but because of the pitchers’ duel that it contained.

Both starting pitchers, Brooklyn’s Leon Cadore and Boston’s Joe Oeschger, pitched the entire 26 innings of the game, Somehow, they only allowed one run apiece. “If a pitcher couldn’t go the distance,” Oeschger would tell the Sarasota Herald-Tribune decades later, “he soon found himself some other form of occupation.” in 1920 at Braves Field, the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves played a record 26-inning game that ended in 1-1 tie.

The 3 hrs and 50 mins contest was called due to darkness, both pitchers (Leon Cadore & Joe Oeschger) went the distance. Walter Holke had 42 POs at first base — Old-Time Baseball Photos (@OTBaseballPhoto) 2 (Tie). May 8, 1984: Chicago White Sox 7, Milwaukee Brewers 6Length: 25 innings This is the longest game in MLB history in terms of time.

It took eight hours and six minutes – and it had to be completed over two days. The game began on May 8. With 14,754 fans in attendance at Comiskey Park, the two teams played 17 innings before the game was suspended at 1 a.m. with the score tied, 3-3. There was an American League rule that no new inning could begin after that time.

Milwaukee looked like it would win in regulation after taking a two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning. But down to their final out and facing Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, the White Sox rallied to tie the score on a double by Julio Cruz and a single by Rudy Law. Neither team scored again until the next day.

When the game resumed, the Brewers took the lead again in the 21st inning on a three-run homer by Ben Oglivie. Somehow, Chicago managed to tie the game again in the bottom half, on RBI knocks by Carlton Fisk and Tom Paciorek, and the two teams played on.

1. In the bottom of the 25th – after a scoreless top half by Tom Seaver, on in relief – the White Sox ended the game with a bang.
2. Harold Baines drove a walk-off home run off Chuck Porter to win it for Chicago.2 (Tie).
3. Sept.11, 1974: St.
4. Louis Cardinals 4, New York Mets 3Length: 25 innings The 13,460 fans who arrived at Shea Stadium on this Wednesday night in September had no idea what they were in for: A seven-hour, four-minute contest that wouldn’t end until 3:13 in the morning, becoming the longest continuous Major League game (by innings) where a winner was decided.

Jerry Koosman carried a 3-1 lead into the ninth for the Mets, but he gave up a game-tying homer to Ken Reitz with two outs. Neither team scored again until the 25th, when St. Louis’ Bake McBride – aptly nicknamed “Shake ‘n Bake” – made something happen with his wheels.

McBride led off with an infield hit, then scored all the way from first on a wild pickoff throw by Hank Webb. With sunrise barely three hours away, the Cards held on for the 4-3 win. The Mets estimated about 1,000 fans were left in the stands. “I figured I could get to third,” McBride said after the game, per The Associated Press report.

“Then, when I turned second, I said to myself, ‘I’m going all the way.'” Other historical footnotes: Yogi Berra, the Mets’ manager at the time, was ejected in the 20th inning, at about 1:30 a.m. Lou Brock came into the game with 105 stolen bases, but was caught trying for No.106.

Keith Hernandez appeared in only 14 games for the Cards as a rookie in 1974, and this was one. Claude Osteen pitched 9 1/3 scoreless innings in relief for St. Louis; Jerry Cram pitched eight scoreless innings in relief for New York. Fifty players appeared in the game, and about 180 baseballs were used.

Joe Torre, a Cardinals outfielder then, said afterwards: “That was the fastest 25-inning game I ever played.” September 11, 1974: The beat the, 4-3, in 25 innings. The game featured 202 batters and latest 7 hrs/4 minutes at Shea. Hank Webb took the loss after making an throwing error attempting a pickoff in the top of the 25th inning that led to the eventual winning run.

— MetsRewind (@metsrewind) 4 (Tie). April 15, 1968: Houston Astros 1, New York Mets 0Length: 24 innings The Mets, it seems, have a penchant for playing in historically long games. Six years before they played 25 innings in Flushing, they played 24 against the Astros in Houston. Incredibly, the game was scoreless until the bottom of the 24th, the longest any Major League game has ever stayed scoreless.

The six-hour, six-minute contest at the Astrodome began with Hall of Famer Tom Seaver on the mound for the Mets and Don Wilson for the Astros. Both starters were at the top of their game. Wilson went nine scoreless and allowed only five hits. Seaver, who was in his second MLB season and a year away from leading the Miracle Mets to the 1969 World Series title, threw 10 shutout innings and allowed just two hits.

1. Tom Terrific retired 25 straight batters between the bottom of the second and the bottom of the 10th.
2. As the teams marched on, they eventually set the record to that point for the longest night game in history, a note posted to the Astrodome scoreboard – along with some lighthearted messages to the fans who stuck it out.

In the 20th inning, the scoreboard read: “We hope you are enjoying tonight’s third game as much as you enjoyed the first two.” The game was finally decided when, with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 24th inning, Houston’s Bob Aspromonte hit a routine ground ball to short.

It could have been an inning-ending double play to send the game to the 25th. But it skidded off the Astroturf and through shortstop Al Weis’ legs, allowing the game’s lone, walk-off run to score. “I just plain blew it,” Weis said after the game. On this day in 1968, the Astros beat Mets, 1-0, in 24 innings in the Astrodome.

Norm Miller scored the winning run at 1:37 a.m.”Everybody’s got to be known for something, right,” he told me in 2015. The Astros used only five pitchers. — Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) 4 (Tie). July 21, 1945: Detroit Tigers 1, Philadelphia Athletics 1Length: 24 innings Before the White Sox and Brewers surpassed them four decades later, the Tigers and A’s had the AL record for longest game.

This game, like the Robins and Braves’ 26-inning record-setter, ended in a tie. The two teams met on a Saturday afternoon at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, and they played all 24 innings in a brisk four hours, 48 minutes. Both the Tigers and A’s used only two pitchers. For the Tigers, Les Mueller handled the first 19 2/3 innings, allowing only one unearned run.

Mueller was one of the many ballplayers just returning from military service in World War II when this game was played. With two runners on and two outs in the 20th inning, manager Steve O’Neill called on Dizzy Trout in relief. Trout had pitched 4 2/3 innings the day before, but he escaped the jam and pitched the final 4 1/3 innings of the game without allowing a run.

1. The A’s were still managed by the legendary Connie Mack, 82 years old and in his 45th season with the team.
2. Mack let starting pitcher Russ Christopher go the first 13 innings; he allowed one run.
3. Then Joe Berry came in to pitch the final 11 frames, and he held the Tigers scoreless.
4. Philadelphia’s only run came in the bottom of the fourth, when Buddy Rosar knocked an RBI single to left field.

Detroit tied things up in the top of the seventh on a Doc Cramer run-scoring groundout. That’s how the score stayed until the game was called due to darkness.4 (Tie). Sept.1, 1906: Philadelphia Athletics 4, Boston Americans 1Length: 24 innings Connie Mack managed the A’s for so long, he was a part of two separate 24-inning games nearly four decades apart.

• Mack was only in his sixth season in Philadelphia when the first of those games took place before an estimated crowd of 18,000 on a Saturday afternoon at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston – the home of the Red Sox before Fenway Park, when they were still called the Americans.
• The A’s struck first with a run-scoring infield hit by Harry Lord in the top of the third inning.

Boston answered in the bottom of the sixth, when Freddy Parent tripled to the wall in right field and Chick Stahl, in his last year as the Americans’ player-manager, drove him in with a single. That was the only offense until the 24th inning, when the A’s broke open the game on a tiebreaking RBI single by Osee Schrecongost and RBI triples by Socks Seybold and Danny Murphy.

1. As darkness started to fall, Philadelphia closed out the win.
2. Both starting pitchers – A’s rookie Jack Coombs and the Americans’ Joe Harris – pitched the entire game.
3. Coombs was especially brilliant, yielding just the one run and striking out 18.
4. Harris’ performance was of course nothing to sneeze at, as he was strong until the 24th and struck out 14 himself.7 (Tie).

May 31, 1964: San Francisco Giants 8, New York Mets 6Length: 23 innings A 25-, a 24- and now a 23-inning game for the Mets, who are the only MLB team to play three games of at least 23 innings. Unfortunately for them, they lost all three. This tilt against the Giants, whose move to San Francisco in 1957 was one of the catalysts for the Mets becoming an MLB franchise, was played in front of 57,037 fans at Shea Stadium.

It was the Mets’ first year at Shea – the then-lovable losers had just left the Giants’ old home, the Polo Grounds. It wasn’t just your ordinary 23-inning game, though. It was the second game of a doubleheader. Yes, the Mets and Giants had already played nine innings (the Giants won, 5-3), when they took the field for 23 more.

Their grand total of innings played on the day: 32. In the 23-inning Game 2, the Giants jumped out to a 6-1 lead, including a first-inning RBI single by Willie Mays. But the Mets fought back and tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a three-run homer by Joe Christopher.

1. The next runs came 16 innings later, when the Giants prevailed.
2. In the top of the 23rd, Del Crandall ripped an RBI double to right field, and Jesus Alou followed with a run-scoring infield hit.
3. The win went to a young Gaylord Perry, who pitched 10 scoreless innings in relief with nine strikeouts.
4. In his book “Me and the Spitter,” the Hall of Famer would write that this was the game where “they saw Gaylord Perry throw a spitter under pressure for the first, but hardly the last, time in his career.” 7 (Tie).

June 27, 1939: Brooklyn Dodgers 2, Boston Bees 2 Length: 23 innings Not content with their MLB-record 26-inning matchup nearly two decades before, these same two clubs met again for 23 more in 1939. The Robins had since become the Dodgers, while the Braves were now in the middle of a five-year spell nicknamed the Bees.

But though the names had changed, the result was the same: Just as in the first marathon, no winner was decided. Yes, the teams played 49 innings across those two games and ended up with two ties. On this Tuesday at Braves Field, the Bees took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Hank Majeski and a sacrifice fly by Eddie Miller.

The Dodgers got one back in the next half-inning on a run-scoring groundout by Mel Almada, and they tied the game in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Ernie Koy. That was all for the scoring. After five hours and 15 minutes, with the sun setting, the game was called.

But the Bees would have won in the 13th if not for a cruel twist of fate. When Dodgers third baseman Cookie Lavagetto let a grounder go through his legs, pinch-runner Otto Huber was rounding third to score the winning run when he tripped and fell over the base. He retreated to third, and a strikeout and groundout ended the threat.

Dodgers starter Whit Wyatt pitched 16 innings of two-run baseball, while Lou Fette started for the Bees and allowed two runs in nine innings. Neither bullpen allowed a run, with Boston’s Milt Shoffner turning in an especially strong relief effort, throwing eight scoreless innings to conclude the game.

1. There have only been eight Major League games of 23 innings or longer, while there have been nine at exactly the 22-inning mark.
2. Here is a rundown of that next-longest tier of games.
3. April 17, 2008: Colorado Rockies 2, San Diego Padres 1 The April after their “Rocktober” run to the 2007 NL pennant – which began with a win over San Diego in a one-game tiebreaker to determine the Wild Card – the Rockies prevailed in a six-hour, 16-minute affair against the Padres at Petco Park.

The game started as a pitchers’ duel between San Diego’s Jake Peavy, who threw eight scoreless innings and struck out 11, and Colorado’s Jeff Francis, who went seven scoreless. No runs were scored until the 14th inning, when Brad Hawpe drew a bases-loaded walk to give Colorado a 1-0 lead in the top half, only for the Padres to tie the score on a Josh Bard RBI single in the bottom half.

The teams played seven more scoreless innings until the 22nd, when drove the go-ahead double to deep left-center, and the Rockies held on. Aug.31, 1993: Minnesota Twins 5, Cleveland Indians 4 The AL Central foes clashed for six hours and 17 minutes at the Metrodome before the home team came away with the win.

RBI doubles by Albert Belle and Jim Thome had given the Tribe a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning, but the Twins got two back in the eighth and tied the game at 4 on a Terry Jorgensen double in the bottom of the ninth. That’s where the score stayed for 11 1/2 extra innings, until in the bottom of the 22nd, Pedro Munoz ended the game with a walk-off home run off Jason Grimsley.

1. Aug.23, 1989: Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Montreal Expos 0 This six-hour, 14-minute game at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium ended in favor of the visitors.
2. No one scored until the 22nd and final inning, making this game second only to the 24-inning Mets-Astros 1968 tilt as far as longest scoreless start.
3. The lone run was a homer by Rick Dempsey leading off the 22nd against Expos ace Dennis Martinez, who’d been called on in relief, his first appearance out of the bullpen since 1986 and his last until 1993.

Los Angeles got strong pitching performances from Orel Hershiser, who shut out the Expos for the first seven innings, and a rookie John Wetteland, who did so for the final six. June 3, 1989: Houston Astros 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 4 The Astros won their 24-inning game against the Mets, and they won this game, too, beating the Dodgers in a seven-hour, 14-minute contest at the Astrodome.

1. The score was 4-4 after six innings, with the key knocks including a home run by Kirk Gibson for the Dodgers and a two-run single by Ken Caminiti for the Astros.
2. After the sixth, the teams played the next 15 1/2 innings without another run.
3. But in the bottom of the 22nd, Rafael Ramirez lined a walk-off single to right field (just over the glove of Dodgers legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who entered as a defensive replacement at first base in the 21st frame) to give Houston the victory.

May 12, 1972: Milwaukee Brewers 4, Minnesota Twins 3 The Brewers went on the road to Metropolitan Stadium and came away with a win over the host Twins after five hours and 47 minutes. Hall of Famer Rod Carew accounted for two of the Twins’ first three runs with a pair of run-scoring hits, while the Brewers’ Tommie Reynolds hit a game-tying two-run single in the seventh.

1. After 14 innings of scoreless play, Milwaukee broke the tie in the 22nd on Mike Ferraro’s single off none other than Bert Blyleven, who was just 21 years old at the time.
2. That was the Hall of Famer’s only relief appearance that season, and he didn’t make another until eight years later.
3. June 12, 1967: Washington Senators 6, Chicago White Sox 5 It took six hours and 38 minutes, but the home team finally prevailed at D.C.

Stadium. The Senators and White Sox were tied 4-4 after nine innings, with Cap Peterson having hit two home runs for Washington, including going back-to-back with Frank Howard in the fourth. But Washington almost lost in the 10th after Don Buford knocked a go-ahead single for the White Sox.

• Jim King, though, came through with a game-tying sac fly in the bottom of the inning, and the score stayed tied until the 22nd.
• Paul Casanova came to bat for the Senators with the bases loaded and smacked a walk-off single to left field.
• June 24, 1962: New York Yankees 9, Detroit Tigers 7 The Yankees would win the World Series in 1962, the last title of the Mickey Mantle dynasty, and they were also the winners of this seven-hour game at Tiger Stadium.

The Yanks jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first – Mantle opened the scoring with an RBI single, Yogi Berra hit a sac fly, Moose Skowron had an RBI hit and Clete Boyer hit a three-run homer. But by the sixth, the Tigers had tied the game at 7, on Rocky Colavito’s run-scoring single.

That was the last of the scoring until the 22nd inning, when Jack Reed’s two-run homer off Phil Regan gave New York the lead for good. Still, the highlight of the game might have been Colavito’s offensive performance for the losing side. The Tigers’ cleanup hitter went an incredible 7-for-10 at the plate, making him one of just six players in Major League history with a seven-hit game, regardless of game length.

May 17, 1927: Chicago Cubs 4, Boston Braves 3 Boston’s Bob Smith was a hard-luck loser in this game at Braves Field – the hurler went all 22 innings but gave up the decisive hit to the Cubs’ Charlie Grimm in the 22nd. The Cubs, meanwhile, divided up the innings between three pitchers.

1. The winner, Bob Osborn, entered in the ninth and tossed 14 scoreless frames, allowing only six hits.
2. On the offensive side, Hall of Famer Hack Wilson had the most hits of any player in the game, going 4-for-8 for Chicago, including an RBI single all the way back in the fifth inning.
3. Aug.22, 1917: Brooklyn Robins 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 5 You might remember Leon Cadore as the starting pitcher for the Robins who went all 26 innings in MLB’s longest game.

Well, he also started this 22-inning game at Ebbets Field three years earlier, although he went only seven innings and was removed after the Pirates tied the game against him with a pair of runs in both the sixth and the seventh. Larry Cheney came on in relief and threw 13 scoreless innings, followed by Hall of Famer Rube Marquard, who entered in the 21st and pitched the final two frames.

For the Pirates, Elmer Jacobs pitched 16 2/3 innings in relief and allowed just one run unfortunately, the winning run. In the bottom of the 22nd, Jim Hickman led off with his fifth hit of the day. He would score the walk-off run on a fielder’s choice, coming home all the way from second when Pittsburgh second baseman Jake Pitler hesitated in deciding whether to try to turn a double play on Otto Miller’s ground ball.

One piece of trivia: This was one of Honus Wagner’s final big league appearances – the 43-year-old Hall of Famer, in his final MLB season, pinch-hit for the Pirates during the game. : The longest games in MLB history

Is 42 banned in MLB?

42 – Robinson’s number with the Brooklyn Dodgers – would be permanently retired throughout Major League Baseball. Players who were wearing No.42 at the time were allowed to continue with the number, with the understanding that no more would follow.

Who is the banned MLB pitcher?

Arbitrator issues ruling on Bauer suspension LOS ANGELES – Major League Baseball announced on Thursday that Trevor Bauer’s unpaid suspension for violating the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy has been reduced from 324 to 194 games by independent arbitrator Martin F.

1. Scheinman.
2. The 194-game suspension is the longest handed down under the MLB-MLBPA Joint Domestic Violence Policy, which was enacted in 2015.
3. As a result of this decision, Bauer will be reinstated immediately.
4. Major League Baseball issued the following statement: “Today, the neutral arbitrator selected by MLB and the MLBPA affirmed that Trevor Bauer violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

“After an exhaustive review of the available evidence the neutral arbitrator upheld an unpaid suspension of 194 games. As part of the decision, the arbitrator reinstated Mr. Bauer effective immediately, with a loss of pay covering the 144 games he was suspended during the 2022 season.

In addition, the arbitrator docked Bauer’s salary for the first 50 games of the 2023 season (i.e., the period covering March 30, 2023 to May 23, 2023). While we believe a longer suspension was warranted, MLB will abide by the neutral arbitrator’s decision, which upholds baseball’s longest-ever active player suspension for sexual assault or domestic violence.

“We understand this process was difficult for the witnesses involved and we thank them for their participation. Due to the collectively bargained confidentiality provisions of the joint program, we are unable to provide further details at this time.” The Dodgers issued this statement: “We have just been informed of the arbitrator’s ruling and will comment as soon as practical.” On April 29, MLB suspended Bauer for two full seasons following the league’s investigation of domestic violence and sexual assault allegations made against him.

• That suspension originally did not include the 99 regular-season games the Dodgers right-hander missed after being placed on paid administrative leave on July 2, 2021.
• Between his time on administrative leave and the 144 games he missed in 2022 while officially suspended, Bauer missed 243 games.
• Bauer was the first player to appeal a suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy.

“Under Major League Rule 2C, the Dodgers have 14 days from reinstatement to decide whether to put him on the 40-man roster or not,” said an MLB spokesperson. Bauer, who will turn 32 in January, was initially placed on paid administrative leave after a San Diego woman accused him of sexual assault during two sexual encounters in 2021.

• The woman also submitted a temporary ex parte restraining order against him.
• Bauer maintained he did nothing wrong, saying the encounters were consensual.
• A Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied the restraining order.
• In February 2022, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced that it would not pursue a criminal case against Bauer.

MLB conducted a separate investigation of its own to determine if Bauer violated the league’s domestic violence policy. Under the joint domestic violence policy agreed upon by MLB and the MLBPA, the Commissioner’s Office has the ability to suspend a player even if he has not been charged or convicted in court.

• There have been multiple instances of players receiving a suspension under the joint domestic violence policy even after criminal charges were dropped.
• One such example came in August 2019, when Bauer’s current teammate, Julio Urías, was suspended 20 games after an incident that May in which he was arrested for investigation of possible misdemeanor domestic battery.

Urías accepted the discipline without appeal. Bauer’s three-year, $102 million contract with the Dodgers is set to expire after the 2023 season. He had an opt-out in the deal following the 2022 season, but the deadline for him to exercise that opt-out has passed.

What was the biggest MLB controversy?

1919 conspiracy – The 1919 World Series resulted in the most famous scandal in baseball history, often referred to as the Black Sox Scandal, Eight players from the Chicago White Sox (nicknamed the Black Sox) were accused of throwing the series against the Cincinnati Reds,

Details of the scandal remain controversial, and the extent to which each player was said to be involved varied. It was, however, front-page news across the country when the story was uncovered late in the 1920 season, and despite being acquitted of criminal charges (throwing baseball games was technically not a crime), the eight players were banned from organized baseball (i.e.

the leagues subject to the National Agreement) for life. Although betting had been an ongoing problem in baseball since the 1870s, it reached a head in this scandal, resulting in radical changes in the game’s organization. It resulted in the dissolution of the National Baseball Commission and the appointment of a Commissioner of Baseball ( Kenesaw Mountain Landis ) who took firm steps to try to rid the game of gambling influence permanently.

• One important step was the lifetime ban against the Black Sox Scandal participants.
• The “eight men out” were the great “natural hitter” “Shoeless” Joe Jackson ; pitchers Eddie Cicotte and “Lefty” Williams ; infielders “Buck” Weaver, “Chick” Gandil, Fred McMullin, and “Swede” Risberg ; and outfielder “Happy” Felsch,

Jackson, who was suspended during the peak of his career with a,356 lifetime batting average (all-time third), is still regarded as one of the greatest players not in the Hall of Fame.

How did MLB come up with a 162 game season?

Why Are Baseball Seasons 162 Games Long? Getty Images / Getty Images This week, Major League Baseball for the 2015 season. You may have noticed that it starts later and ends later than previous seasons—but each team still plays 162 games, just as they have for decades. But how did MLB arrive at such a seemingly arbitrary number? Let’s start in 1920.

There was baseball before then, but that’s when both the National and American Leagues settled on a season length that would hold for over 40 years. At the time, it was simple math: two leagues of eight teams each—there were no divisions yet—meant each team had seven rivals. For a few years, teams had played each of their rivals 20 times for a 140-game season.

In 1920, this was expanded to 22 games against each of seven rivals, 11 at home and 11 away, resulting in an 154-game season. Then, leagues started expanding. In 1961, the American League added the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators. The following year, the National League welcomed the New York Mets and the Houston Colt,45’s.

After the first expansion, each team had nine rivals rather than seven, and the 154-game season made for bad math,” MLB’s official historian, John Thorn, explains. To play 22 games against each rival would require an 198-game season, so MLB settled on 18 games per rival for nine rivals, for a total of 162 games.

(Thorn clarifies that yes, in 1961, after the AL had expanded but the NL had not, the leagues played seasons of different lengths. “Both World Series contestants opened their regular seasons on April 11 and concluded on October 1,” he says. “NL had more days off.”) The season has been 162 games ever since, but it’s taken some work to keep it there.

1. Even with further expansions, 162 became the de facto standard, and you had to get more and more complicated arithmetically to make it work,” Thorn says.
2. So when we went to two 6-team divisions in 1969 the—I think brilliant—solution was to have more games against the teams in your division, thus enabling you to preserve the 162-game season.” The addition of a third division in each league in 1994, introduction of interleague-play in 1997, a final expansion to 30 teams total in 1998 and, most recently, the realignment of the leagues that necessitated perpetual interleague games last season has made for increasingly complicated scheduling and yet the season holds at 162 games.

These days, 76 contests against division rivals, 66 against non-division league teams, and 20 interleague games—or 162 games. It works, but it feels a little random. The reason the schedule has stayed at 162 games is largely because to change it would be so difficult.

No one wants to give up home dates,” Thorn says. “So if we went to 158 games, each team would have to give up two home dates and that’s revenue.” Meanwhile, a longer season would mean ending even later in the year than the late October/early November World Series of late. And unless the teams agreed to play at a warmer, neutral location (unlikely given, again, the potential hit to ticket sales) this could result in some seriously cold weather at the championship games.

It’s not just the bureaucratic intricacies that have kept the season length consistent (although trying to imagine the MLB Players Association and the team owners reaching an agreement to ever add or subtract a single game is probably explanation enough).

Has anyone played 162 games in MLB?

Only 2 Mets have played full 162. Will that change in ’22? This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo’s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter,, And to get it regularly in your inbox. Forty years ago, it was common to see Major League ballplayers appear in 162 games.

1. Eight achieved the feat in 1982.
2. Twelve more played in at least 160, while 47 players appeared in no fewer than 155 – the equivalent of one week’s vacation over a six-month season.
3. In today’s game, that sort of thing doesn’t happen with anything close to the same frequency.
4. Only two big leaguers (Marcus Semien and Whit Merrifield) appeared in all 162 games last season, while merely 29 played in at least 155 – a 38.3% reduction from four decades ago.

The reasons for this decrease are mostly anchored around modern concepts of injury prevention. Teams routinely give players scheduled days off work to rest their bodies over a six-month season. Then again, a full 162 has always been rare in Queens; only Félix Millan in 1975 and John Olerud in 1999 have achieved the feat for the Mets.

If anyone has a chance to join that club in 2022, it’s, During his rookie season, Alonso became the seventh player in franchise history to appear in 161 games. Since his debut, he’s played in 406 of a possible 420 games (97%). Alonso takes pride in his ability to be available every day, and he’s made his desire to continue doing so known to team management.

“If I’m not hurt, I want to be out there,” Alonso said. “They know exactly where I stand. I’m young. My body feels good. I’m available, and if I’m available, I want to be out there.” While shortstop has also appeared in all 36 games for the Mets, he plays a more demanding defensive position and owns a lengthier recent injury history, both of which hinder his chances to maintain this pace.

When asked, Lindor said he expects to rest once the Mets have their first long stretch without a team off-day. That essentially puts Alonso alone in his pursuit. It’s worth noting that if the designated hitter had always existed in the National League, Alonso might have already achieved 162. While DH is a position that Alonso doesn’t prefer, the half-days of rest it provides put Mets trainers at ease.

Beyond that, Alonso says he does “a really good job of listening to my body, giving it what it needs.” His checklist includes proper nutrition and sleep habits, as well as a recognition of when less might be more – fewer swings in the batting cage if he’s tired, or fewer reps in the weight room.

1. After all, the goal is not only to play in 162 games, but to do so while remaining fresh for a couple dozen extra games in October.
2. If we go all the way to the last week of the year, that’s an extra four or five weeks of ball,” Alonso said.
3. Yeah, 180, 185, whatever it is? That’s the goal.” : Only 2 Mets have played full 162.

Will that change in ’22?

Do MLB teams have to play 162 games?

How Many Baseball Games Are In Each MLB Season? – As we mentioned, each Major League Baseball team plays 162 games each season. The American League (AL) has 15 teams, with the National League comprising 15 teams. Since each of the thirty teams needs to play 162 games throughout the season, with two teams playing at a time, that results in a whopping 2,430 scheduled baseball games during every MLB season.

Why do they play so many games in MLB?

162-Game Season – 1 of 5

The Problem: 162 games in a season There’s no question that baseball is about history, but the fact remains that 162 games is too many. Do the Atlanta Braves really need to play the Washington Nationals 19 times over the course of the season? The MLB season started on March 31 and runs through Sept.29. That’s 184 days to complete 162 games. Throw in the three-day break for the All-Star Game, the fact that only two teams play in the season-opening game on March 31 and you basically have 162 games in 180 days. That’s 18 days off over half the year. Then throw in the fact that there are rainouts, which result in doubleheaders later in the series or the season. Add in some of those rainouts force teams to make up the game on an off day and you have a real problem on your hands. Baseball has 162 games mainly because of money. Teams make more money the more home games they play, television partners make more with the more games they broadcast. The dollar runs sports, as evidence by the skyrocketing of player salaries. However, 162 games is not needed to decide who the best teams are. Cutting it back by eight games (two from each divisional opponent) would give more off days and add that much more excitement to the season. Imagine if the Oakland Athletics had eight less games to make their comeback in the AL West last year. Would they have still won the division? With less games, teams press more as it gets closer to the postseason.