MLB's average time of game hits another all-time high: 3 hours, 5 minutes

Major League Baseball games are still getting longer – a slow drip that figures to increase the likelihood strong action will be taken to curtail the trend.

After another slate of nine-inning odysseys on Monday, the average time of game has hit 3 hours, 5 minutes, which would be an all-time high by three minutes for a full season, and a 3% increase from 2016’s average nine-inning game - an even 3 hours.

Including extra-inning games, the average game time is 3 hours, 9 minutes. Both numbers trump all-time highs of 3:02 and 3:07, both set in 2014, according to data gathered by Baseball-Reference.

As the weather warms and home runs – also headed for an all-time high – continue flying out of the park, games are getting longer. Since June 6, the time of game has ticked up a minute - in a sample of 1,133 games.

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Monday’s small sample of eight games didn’t help. All were nine-inning affairs, and six of the eight were won by the home team, which means the bottom of the ninth inning was not played. Still, the slate averaged 3 hours, 16 minutes, headed by the Washington Nationals-Chicago Cubs affair that lasted 3:54 and featured 11 pitching changes."

"Sometimes baseball’s like that," Cubs outfielder Albert Almora said Tuesday. "Pitchers throwing, hitters are going deep into counts, that all takes into effect. You can’t take that away from the game, so I mean, I think it was just a well-played, intense baseball game."

Improving the pace of play has been a key initiative for Commissioner Rob Manfred, who hinted at unilateral action if an agreement to move games along couldn’t be reached with the players’ association. Efforts this year to stem the tide - such as the automatic intentional walk and imposing a limit on manager deliberation for replay challenges - apparently haven't had a significant effect on baseball's inaction problem.

A pitch clock exists in minor league games and figures to be on the negotiating table at the major league level, perhaps as soon as 2018.

Contributing: Kevin Santo in Washington

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