“Shhhhhh don’t give Manfred ideas” “I know people complain about games being too long…but that’s too short.” - MLB fans on Reddit react to St. Louis Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Rays game lasting less then two hours

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays played against each other earlier today, and the game lasted just 114 minutes or slightly under two hours. The game was the shortest recorded game since 2011, where the Rays were also involved in that game.

Major League Baseball games are usually roughly a little under three hours, so a game that is under two hours is absolutely absurd. The game was very low scoring, with the Tampa Bay Rays beating the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1. Both teams combined only had five hits in total, so it is safe to say that pitching on both teams dominated this game.

Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan pitched today, throwing eight scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and giving up just two hits against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals, on the other hand, threw Miles Mikolas, who threw eight innings and gave up two runs on just two hits, and also had nine strikeouts. Overall, the game was pretty boring to watch from an offensive standpoint; however, it was enjoyable to see the pitchers duel. As McClanahan and Mikolas are a part of some of the best pitchers in the National League.

MLB fans on Reddit immidiately started discussing this game because of how short it was, and what this could possibly mean for the future of the sport.

MLB fans react to historically short game by the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals

MLB commisioner Rob Manfred is notorious for wanting to make the game of baseball shorter, an opinion that is not favorable to many MLB fans. He has already taken measures, such as implementing pitch clocks, to try to make games as short as possible. Many commentors on Reddit were saying that Rob Manfred was probably very pleased with this game.

There were also fans discussing the last time a game was exactly 114 minutes. It was a game between the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6, 2015. The White Sox won 4-2, and pitchers, Mark Buehrle and Chris Sale, both threw complete games.

Although sometimes baseball games can feel like they are long and drag on. A game should not be less than two hours. tTat is a little too short, especially if you are a fan at the stadium. However, some people were saying that games used to be this short back in the day.

Ever since implementing pitch clocks and other time-based rules, the games have been getting somewhat shorter. However, the addition of replays and reviews basically cancel this out. It will be interesting to see if anything drastic will change in the MLB in the years to come.