How Long Is a Baseball Game? – Average Length of Game

You can’t say that baseball isn’t a challenging or complicated sport, especially for newbies. However, when you get around the basic set of rules, you will find out that the actual game is a lot simpler than you thought. But how long will a baseball game be?

A baseball game won’t have a specific time limit or an expected length. Even so, an average baseball game shouldn’t be longer than 3 hours. The actual match between two MLB teams will keep going until one of the teams is declared a winner.

In the next part of the article. we will try to introduce you to the general rules of baseball and some unique situations that might arise, as well as the expected average length of the baseball game.

How Long Is a Baseball Game?

Don’t go to a baseball game if you don’t have a few hours to spare. Although baseball games don’t have a time limit, most of the time, an average baseball game shouldn’t be longer than 3 hours. The two teams will go head to head until one of them is determined the winner.

You might also like my article on the length of an NBA game.

This very interesting sport called Baseball was invented in the United States. Both the players and their fanbase will go through a considerable set of emotions throughout the game. There is basically no baseball fan that didn’t hear about the Major League Baseball (MLB).

The games from professional baseball leagues are anticipated by a lot of fans that wouldn’t miss a minute of these plays. Regardless of the fact that the baseball leagues are very long and will have a considerable amount of protocols, it is something that real fans will want to be a part of.

A bulk of statistics will show you that most major league baseball games will last about three hours and will feature about nine innings. In the case of high school baseball games, you should know that the average play will last for four hours or more, and will have at least seven baseball innings. On the other hand, youth league baseball games will usually be the shortest, only lasting between an hour and an hour and a half with five to six innings.

The last few seasons have shown us that baseball games tend to be longer with the passing of time.

Check out this video of a baseball gameplay:

There are differences between the time for a minor league baseball, a major league game, a collegiate baseball game, or an MLB game. You can see these differences in the below section.

How Long Is the Average Baseball Game by Skill Level?

Below is a table of average MLB game time and time of other professional leagues:

How Long Should a Baseball Inning Last?

A baseball inning will last six outs, based on the rules made by the MLB. Each team will have three outs. Apart from Tee-Ball, all baseball skill levels and leagues will follow this simple rule. Baseball innings are also split into two halves.

This will not count the outs that players will need to get an at-bat per inning. Considering the multiple variables like pitching changes, the number of at-bats, and the pace of the pitchers, you surely understand how to playing time will also be variable in a pretty big range. The game will start with the away team batting in the first half, while the home team will continue batting in the second half.

There are cases when a half of an inning will only last three pitches per three quick outs. Even so, keep in mind that there is no time limit. Although not very probable, it is still possible for an inning to last forever if the fielding team won’t be able to gain three outs.

What is The Goal of a Baseball Game?

Teams will compete in a baseball game with the goal of scoring more runs than the rival team. The attacking team will try to hit the ball as far as possible and then run through the plates on the field to reach the home plate. When they reach the final plate, the run is considered complete.

The role of the thrower in the defending team will be to throw the ball in a way that would make it hard for the batting player to hit it. If the attacking player is able to hit the ball, then the job of the defending team will be to catch it before that player manages to reach the home plate.

How Will a Team Win in a Baseball Game?

A team will win a baseball game by getting more points/runs than the opposing team in each of the innings. The winner will usually be the team that has the most points after nine innings (or seven, or even five, depending on the league). Some games might end after a very short time of play if one of the teams has managed to get to a score difference that would make it impossible for the opposing team to ever reach.

Extra-inning games will be required until a winner can be set between the two teams.

Conclusion

So how long will a baseball game last? Most of the time, regular and postseason baseball games will last around nine innings.

Frequently Asked Questions

You will find some common questions regarding the length of a baseball game.