Which is the longest ever MLB baseball game and how long did it last?

Which is the longest ever MLB baseball game and how long did it last?

Steve Njuguna
updated at November 18, 2023 at 2:24 PM

An average baseball game in the MLB is estimated to last two hours and forty minutes. However, some instances in history have seen games last more than double that time. In this article, we focus on the longest Major League Baseball game in history and all the extraordinary circumstances that led to its prolonged duration.

Walk off
Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks walks off the field after losing 5-0 to the Texas Rangers in Game Five of the World Series in November 2023. Photo by Christian Petersen
Source: Getty Images

A regulation MLB baseball game does not have a specific time limit. What determines whether it ends or not is if the team that is trailing has been allowed to make nine innings, which translates to twenty-seven outs. If both teams are tied at the end of nine innings, then they will go for extra innings to determine who won the contest.

What is the longest baseball game ever played in the MLB?

The answer to that question is twofold, depending on whether we are calculating length in terms of time or periods of innings.

The longest MLB game ever in terms of time

The longest MLB game in terms of time occurred between May 8th and 9th, 1984, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. Not counting a recess in innings for rest, the game lasted 8 hours and 6 minutes and went for 25 innings.

The final score was 7-6 in favour of the Milwaukee Brewers after a blast by Harold Baines. Due to new and updated rules on extra innings in modern baseball, it is difficult for such a feat to be repeated in this era.

Harold Baines
MLB Hall of Famer Harold Baines got the winning score in that 1984 game. Photo by Ron Vesely
Source: Getty Images

The longest MLB game ever in terms of innings

The longest Major League Baseball game in terms of innings occurred on May 5th and 6th, 1920, between the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robins (nowadays known as the Los Angeles Dodgers). The game lasted 26 innings and ended in a 1-1 tie due to darkness.

What is the longest baseball game in terms of hours?

The longest-ever baseball game, according to the Guinness Book Of World Records, belongs to Dr Brent Saik and 55 of his friends as they played for 83 hours and 15 minutes as part of a charity initiative to raise funds for pediatric cancer and research. They were initially trying to go for the 100-hour mark.

What is the longest-ever baseball game in terms of scores?

The longest professional baseball game was played in the Triple-A international league between the Pawtucket Red Sox and Red Wings between April 18th and 19th, 1981, at the McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The game had 33 innings, 8 hours, and 25 minutes of running time.

Some of the players got so tired they got delirious, and there was so much cold that players burnt broken bats and wooden benches to keep themselves warm. It also ended up being a record for the most time spent by one umpire at the plate, with Dennis Cregg standing in for the whole period and all 882 pitches. A bat from this game was presented to the Baseball Hall of Fame for commemoration.

Longest Baseball game ever
A replica of the scoreboard commemorating the longest baseball game ever in Pawtucket. Photo by MLB
Source: Getty Images

How long was the shortest MLB game ever?

The shortest MLB game on record occurred between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies on September 28, 1919. The game lasted only 51 minutes. The reason for the game's brevity was that both teams wanted to finish the game quickly to start their winter break, as they had not qualified for the postseason. The Giants defeated the Phillies 6-1 in this exceptionally brief contest. This game remains the shortest nine-inning game in MLB history.

How long was the shortest baseball game ever?

The shortest baseball game in history is believed to be a minor league encounter in 1916 between the Asheville Tourists and the Winston-Salem Tourists. The game ended in only 31 minutes as both teams wanted to catch trains out of the area in time. Some fans were even arriving as the teams were wrapping up!

Playing for eight hours straight like the teams in the longest MLB baseball game ever must sound like a nightmare for modern professional players. Most baseball games in the era are standardised, and you know what to expect.

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Authors
Steve Njuguna photo
Steve Njuguna
Steve Njuguna is a media professional with close to a decade of experience in the sports media industry. He has previously worked as a sports journalist with Bamba Sports TV, Vybez Radio and The Nairobian newspaper.