In the League Championship Series (LCS), the duration of a nine-inning game saw an increase of 12 minutes, bringing the average to 3 hours and 16 minutes this year. This rise in game length coincided with a notable uptick in scoring. However, the overall average time for postseason games has decreased by two minutes, landing at an average of 3 hours as the league experiences its second season utilizing the pitch clock.

To provide further context, the average LCS game time was significantly longer two years back, at 3 hours and 40 minutes in 2021. The introduction of electronic pitch-calling with PitchCom assisted in lowering it to 3 hours and 26 minutes in 2022. Following the implementation of the pitch clock, the duration fell to 3 hours and 4 minutes last year.

This year, the runs per game statistic in the LCS reached an average of 11.3, reflecting an increase from the 8.8 runs per game recorded in 2023 and a substantial rise from 7.9 in 2022. The scoring average of 9.9 runs per game in 2021 was also surpassed.

As for the broader postseason context, the average length for nine-inning games through the LCS has decreased compared to previous years, falling from 3 hours and 22 minutes in 2022 to 3 hours and 37 minutes in 2021. The scoring has also seen slight variations with an average of 8.2 runs per game this postseason, up from 8.0 in 2023, 7.9 in 2022, and slightly down from 8.7 in 2021.

Looking at past performance, the average length of last year’s postseason games culminated at 3 hours and 2 minutes, down from 3 hours and 23 minutes in 2022 and 3 hours and 37 minutes in 2021. The World Series last year achieved an average duration of 3 hours and 1 minute, marking the quickest series since 1996, according to industry metrics.

During the regular season this year, the average game time of 2 hours and 36 minutes reflects a decrease of four minutes from 2023 and a remarkable reduction of 28 minutes from 2022, a level not seen since the 1984 season, which averaged 2 hours and 35 minutes.

To continue optimizing gameplay, Major League Baseball has lowered the pitch clock for games with runners on base by two seconds, adjusting it to 18 seconds, while maintaining the 15-second limit for situations without runners.