Average time of 9-inning game up 2 minutes to 2:38 in 3rd year of pitch clock
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Trevor Williams (32) winds up to throw as the pitch clock runs during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Miami Marlins, March 18, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
NEW YORK — The average time of a nine-inning major league baseball game increased by 2 minutes this season to 2:38 in the third year of the pitch clock.
MLB's average fell from 3:04 in 2022 to 2:40 the following year when the clock was instituted and decreased to 2:36 in 2024, its lowest since 1984's 2:35.
The average game time passed 3 hours for the first time in 2016. It reached a record 3:10 in 2021 before the introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring it down to 3:04 in 2022.
Three nine-inning games lasted 3:30 or longer this year, down from 391 such games in 2021.
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