Why Do Red Sox - Yankee games take so long?

A friend asked me this question last night. Granted, there were twenty-seven runs scored yesterday so a 4 hour 21 minute game was expected but how about Friday night's game?A 5-4 eleven inning win by the Sox lasted exactly the same 4 hours and 21 minutes.

Anyone that watches a major league baseball game live or at home realizes that it can be a long experience. By the way, not having a game clock is one of the many reasons why I love baseball. But Red Sox - Yankee games take it to another level. MLB contests average just under three hours. I could not find what these rivalry games average but my guess would be at least 45 minutes more than the league average. The question is why? There are two reasons but both are caused by the intensity of the rivalry.

Both teams use their bull pens extensively each time they play each other. Because each of the eighteen regular season games is intensified, both managers use their relievers to match up against specific hitters. Mike Myers (hum the Halloween movie theme here) is a great example. As a Red Sox he was used versus Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui. The Yankees signed him to get out David Ortiz. He would appear in each and every game because the managers were attempting to play the percentages. This happens every time the two teams play. Both Friday and Saturday's games featured ten relievers. Each reliever is granted eight warm up pitches from the game mound. Factor in the manager's visit, the time it takes for the pitcher to arrive from the bull pen and my best guess is this must take about 2 minutes and 30 seconds (the length of a commercial break). If this happens 10 times we are looking at an additional 25 minutes at the very least.

The next factor leading to the extended game time focuses on the intensity of the rivalry. Both teams know each other very well. Due to this familiarity, players and coaches know each other so well that the game slows down. All MLB teams have advanced scouts that prepare game plans. These reports focus a great deal on tendencies of players. The Red Sox and Yankees have played so many games over the years that the game slows down. For example, during the Grady Little years, the Yankees were constantly stealing third base off the Sox (often times while the infield was in a shift versus Giambi -- arrrrghhh). Little was fired due to his lack of paying attention to these reports. Remember 2003's Game 7 with Pedro being left in the game too long? Regardless, since Terry Francona has become the skipper less of that has happened. In fact, you see the Sox pitchers stepping off to change up their pace to the plate. Johnny Damon was picked off second base attempting to steal at a key junction yesterday. All of this advance scouting leads to a longer game.

I could not find any support for my last reason but I will provide the rationale. Many of these rivalry games are nationally televised (Fox or ESPN). I'm pretty sure the time between innings is longer for a national broadcast rather than a game on NESN or YES. This is due to the increased advertisement revenue.

Tonight's game is a ESPN Sunday night game that starts at 8:05 PM. My guess is the last pitch will be thrown at 11:50 PM. A 3 hour 45 minute game. I can't tell you who will win but game that will approach midnight is a safe bet.