In a surprising turn of events, the New York Yankees’ 9-7 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday night marked the longest nine-inning game since Major League Baseball (MLB) introduced the pitch clock for the 2023 season. The game lasted a total of 3 hours and 49 minutes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
MLB’s Longest Nine-Inning Game Since Pitch Clock
The game between the Yankees and Marlins surpassed the previous record for the longest nine-inning game under the pitch clock, which stood at 3 hours and 45 minutes. That record was set on August 15, 2024, during the Oakland Athletics’ 7-6 win over the New York Mets.
Before this, MLB’s longest nine-inning game since the pitch clock was introduced occurred on September 27, 2022, when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 13-9 in 3 hours and 57 minutes.
High Number of Pitches and Walks
The Yankees and Marlins combined for a massive 379 pitches thrown by 13 different pitchers during the game. Marlins pitchers contributed to the lengthy game by walking 10 batters, bringing their total number of walks in the series to 21. The two teams left 21 runners on base, with the Marlins accounting for 12 of those.
Average Game Time Reduces with Pitch Clock
The introduction of the pitch clock in 2023 had significantly reduced the average time of a nine-inning game. The average game time dropped from 3:04 in 2022 to 2:40 in 2023, and further decreased to 2:36 in 2024, marking the lowest game time since 1984.
However, this Yankees vs. Marlins game was a clear outlier, with the game time rising to 3 hours and 49 minutes, well above the average.
MLB Game Time Over the Years
The average time for a nine-inning game exceeded 3 hours for the first time in 2016 and reached a record-high 3:10 in 2021. The introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring down the game time to 3:04 in 2022.
Despite the efforts to speed up the game, Saturday night’s match was a reminder of how unpredictable baseball can be.
