There was a sub 2 hour game in 2019. That’s obvious because of rain shortened games. Lucas Giolito almost threw a perfect game in 5 innings in a rain shortened game that took 1:31. But have there been sub 2 hour games that were regular games in 2019?
On May 19, 2019, the Marlins beat the Mets 3-0. This might have been an ordinary game in a regular baseball fan’s mind, but we’re no regular baseball fans. You see, in a half empty stadium the game took 1:59. Let’s discuss that.
Games normally take 3 hours nowadays. Games used to take a lot shorter in 1946, as a regular game would finish in under 2 hours. This was due to a less leisurely pace that would make most modern pitchers sneaze, and less pitching changes. Let’s face it, baseball has gotten a lot slower. And without the star power to make up for it like in the NFL? And the wonder why so many people get bored watching baseball.
Anyway, back to our game. It took an absolute miracle to finish a game in under 2 hours. Noah Syndergaard and Sandy Alcantara were pitching, and they are two of the more faster pitchers in baseball. Both are good pitchers, and neither struck out too many batters. Alcantara threw a 2 hit shutout while Syndergaard took the loss.
In the end, the game is slowing down but there can still be faster games.