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MLB average game time up nearly 4 minutes to 2:42, partly because of robot umpires

Associated Press

FILE - A call is overturned to a walk by the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, displayed on the stadium screens, after Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson challenged at pitch result during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox in Cincinnati, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (Carolyn Kaster, Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

NEW YORK – The average time of a nine-inning Major League Baseball game increased by 3 minutes, 43 seconds this season to 2 hours, 42 minutes following the introduction of robot umpires.

MLB said Monday that 61 seconds of this year's increase was attributed to the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, which allows batters, catchers and pitchers to appeal umpire ball/strike decisions to a computer.

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MLB’s average fell from 3:04 in 2022 to 2:40 the following year when the pitch clock was instituted and decreased to 2:36 in 2024, its lowest since 1984’s 2:35. It rose to 2:38 last year.

The average game time passed three 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.

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