# Could you watch every MLB game? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550 "2007-07-05T02:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/1 "2007-07-05T02:04:40Z")
My rough estimates (based on data from the top of my BIL’s head) indicate that watching every MLB game of a season would take around a full year, 24-7. Can someone with the actual numbers help me with the math?. Is it at least mathematically possible for a hardcore baseball fan to watch every single game? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/2 "2007-07-05T02:16:15Z")
I come up with very barely but I don’t know if your definition includes literally sitting in front of the TV 24/7 for the entire year. 30 teams 162 games a piece Average game length about 3.5 hours ((30\*162)/2)\*3.5 = 8505 hours a year Number of hours in a year = 8760 I don’t know all that much about baseball but I don’t think my formula includes playoff games which would probably make it impossible but small changes in the average game length may keep it just under a year. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/3 "2007-07-05T02:22:15Z")
Are you assuming you can only watch one game at a time? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/4 "2007-07-05T02:37:03Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink] Are you assuming you can only watch one game at a time? [/QUOTE] I think that is assumed, but then the question must have been formulated by a female. Any guy worth his membership card can watch 3 - 5 games at a time and keep them all straight, while eating a plate of nachos, a pizza, and drinking beer the whole time. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skeptic42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Skeptic42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeptic42)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/5 "2007-07-05T03:44:00Z")
Can you fast-forward through the commercials (and perhaps other non-play time)? ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/6 "2007-07-05T04:10:11Z")
[This article](http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/13218) references the Elias Sports Bureau as saying the average game was 2h 46m in 2004. So that’s about 6682 hours to watch them all. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/7 "2007-07-05T12:53:52Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] I think that is assumed, but then the question must have been formulated by a female. Any guy worth his membership card can watch 3 - 5 games at a time and keep them all straight, while eating a plate of nachos, a pizza, and drinking beer the whole time. 😃 [/QUOTE] Watch it there. I would report you for personal insults, except that with my luck, I would get a female mod and get myself in trouble 😉 Yes, I am assuming one game at a time, 24/7 clockwork orange style, no FF, skipping or commercial breaks. My original calculation was very much \*\*Shagnasty’s \*\* but \*\*IANS’s \*\* average game length really brings the whole thing down. Heck, one might even get some sleep and all. What is the total number of games in a season with playoffs, finals and all (alwas assuming 7 game series)? ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/8 "2007-07-05T13:54:59Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] What is the total number of games in a season with playoffs, finals and all (alwas assuming 7 game series)? [/QUOTE] Add 49 games for the playoffs (with all series going to 7 games). So 2430 + 49 =2479 games. Approx. 6817 hours (based on **IANS** ’s link). ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/9 "2007-07-05T14:50:18Z")
MLB offers [condensed versions](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE2D91F39F932A15754C0A9649C8B63) of all their games online, each of which is only about 20 minutes long. The service costs $4.95 a month and has been available for about five years. > [@](#): > > Here’s how it works: MLBAM takes video from each game and splices together all the pitches that result in outs, hits or walks, and adds in other relevant action such as stolen bases. A game requiring nearly 300 pitches and three hours in real time is reduced to about 85 pitches and less than 20 minutes on the computer. Including the maximum possible number of playoff games, you could watch an entire season in condensed version in roughly 825 hours, or just 2.5 hours a day. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/10 "2007-07-05T14:55:59Z")
[QUOTE=milquetoast] Add 49 games for the playoffs (with all series going to 7 games). So 2430 + 49 =2479 games. Approx. 6817 hours (based on **IANS** ’s link). [/QUOTE] Isn’t the first round of playoffs (wildcards) best of 5? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/11 "2007-07-05T14:58:48Z")
[QUOTE=anson2995] MLB offers [condensed versions](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE2D91F39F932A15754C0A9649C8B63) of all their games online, each of which is only about 20 minutes long. The service costs $4.95 a month and has been available for about five years. Including the maximum possible number of playoff games, you could watch an entire season in condensed version in roughly 825 hours, or just 2.5 hours a day. [/QUOTE] I have seen those. That’s about the only way I can sit and watch a full game without reaching the lethal dose of beer and wings (no dunking). I do love AA and AAA games at the stadium. MBL on TV, not so much. The question came because my BIL really comes as close to this as I have seen any human. He watches at least every Red Sox game and one more every day. More if he didn’t have dialysis that day. Thanks to all for the answers. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/12 "2007-07-05T21:26:18Z")
[High Jack] > [@](#): > > Could you watch every MLB game? Only if I was tied to a chair. 😃 (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) [/End High Jack] ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/13 "2007-07-05T23:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] [High Jack] Only if I was tied to a chair. 😃 (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) [/End High Jack] [/QUOTE] not my cup of tea, either. I had already included a clockwork orange reference somewhere upthread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/14 "2007-07-06T03:36:03Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I come up with very barely but I don’t know if your definition includes literally sitting in front of the TV 24/7 for the entire year. 30 teams 162 games a piece Average game length about 3.5 hours ((30\*162)/2)\*3.5 = 8505 hours a year Number of hours in a year = 8760 [/QUOTE] You’ve made a big error: the average game is only about 2:40 or so, which pretty substantially reduces your estimate. So it’s actually just 6480 hours, plus let’s tack on the maximum possible number of playoff games (41) at 3 hours each, since they tend to run a little longer, for a total of 6703 hours. That would take you 18 hours, 21 minutes a day, 365 days a year to watch. It’s theoretically possible but I sure wouldn’t want to try it. However, let us consider the magic of TiVO and other video recorders. Since you obviously would not be watching all these games LIVE, you could carve out virtually all commercial breaks, which I believe is 2 minutes between half innings, or 34 minutes in a regulation game, plus you could skim through pitching changes, injuries, and shit like that. That cuts off 20% of your time _while still watching, live, all the actual play_. So we’re down to 15 hours a day or so without actually cheating. Definitely doable if someone paid you a lot of money to do it as a reality show or something. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/15 "2007-07-06T12:20:21Z")
That is pretty much \*\*milquetoast’s \*\* calculation. He cites 49 post-season games and you cite 41, though. What’s the breakdown of those? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/16 "2007-07-06T12:40:06Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] That is pretty much \*\*milquetoast’s \*\* calculation. He cites 49 post-season games and you cite 41, though. What’s the breakdown of those? [/QUOTE] The difference is that \*\*milquetoast’s \*\* was assuming that the first round of playoff games, the Divisional Series, were seven-game series, but they’re actually five-game series. So, the playoff progression looks like this: 4 x 5-game Divisional Series = 20 games 2 x 7-game League Championship Series = 14 games 1 x 7-game World Series = 7 games. Total = 41 games, as **RickJay** said. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/17 "2007-07-06T15:01:23Z")
2003 remains the high water mark for postseason games with 38. The World Series went just six games and two of the division series went just four games. The other series went the full route. ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/18 "2007-07-06T18:32:50Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] The difference is that \*\*milquetoast’s \*\* was assuming that the first round of playoff games, the Divisional Series, were seven-game series, but they’re actually five-game series. [/QUOTE] Oops! You’re correct. I was confusing it with the NBA who recently changed it’s first round from best-of-five to best-of-seven. 41 games (max) it is. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-you-watch-every-mlb-game/410550/19 "2007-07-06T18:44:38Z")
thanks again. So we have 5 hours of sleep and the rest of your life under constant playball bombardment. Sounds like a fun route to suicide.