The number of pitchers used in a game, especially mid-inning pitching changes, certainly has led to the increase in the time of games. However, I attended the Braves-Mets spring training game yesterday - each team used eight pitchers, but there were only two min-inning changes. Time of game: 2:39. I know, I know - no or few TV commercials between innings, etc.
Buy, why do we need shorter games? In the 1990s, I had season tickets to a Major League team, about 10 rows behind the home team dugout. $9.00 per game, and since I got season tickets there was a 10% discount - $8.10 each. Now, the same seats for the same team are around $100 each. (I know, inflation, etc., but who cares.) Suffice it to say, I no longer have those seats - but if I did, at those prices, I would want the games to go at least six to eight hours - why would I want faster games?
And, ever tried to listen to a college football game on the radio? That 60-minute game will take about three hours, and for some reason there is about a three-hour pre-game show. Are the "younger fans" , who supposedly don't have such a long attention span, paying attention to a football broadcast/telecast?
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