The MLB has made significant changes to the rules to cut down the length of time for games.
During the offseason before the 2023 MLB season began, the league changed many rules to attract more fans to the sport.
Baseball fans were tired of some games taking a long time to finish. Now, extra-inning games begin with runners on base, which means the record for the longest baseball game in MLB history may never be broken. In fact, the record is already over 100 years old.
There have been eight Major League games of 23 innings or longer, while nine games have finished at exactly 22 innings.
One game stands out as the longest game in MLB history that took 26 innings to complete.
Below, we will discuss the longest baseball game in MLB history in terms of innings length and game time, along with the longest baseball postseason game in MLB history by time.
Longest Baseball Game In MLB History
While the MLB has made drastic changes to reduce the length of time for games, there have been numerous games in history that took a very long time to complete.
Let’s go over some of the longest baseball games in MLB history below.
Longest Baseball Game In MLB History In Terms Of Inning Length
The longest baseball game in MLB history in terms of inning length occurred on May 1, 1920.
It was the Brooklyn Robins (now known as the Los Angeles Dodgers) vs the Boston Braves (now known as the Atlanta Braves).
The contest took almost four hours to complete.
After 26 innings, the score was tied 1-1.
The game was only called off because of how dark it was outside.
According to the MLB, both starting pitchers, Leon Cadore for the Robins and Joe Oeschger for the Braves pitched the entire length of the game.
Longest Baseball Game In MLB History In Terms Of Time
The longest MLB game in terms of time was in 1984 between the Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers.
The contest was a 25-inning game and it ran for a total of eight hours and six minutes which was completed over two days.
According to the MLB, the teams played the first 17 innings on May 8 but paused with a tied score of 3-3 because of an American League rule prohibiting new innings after 1 AM.
The game resumed the next day and the White Sox won 7-6.
Longest Baseball Postseason Game In MLB History By Time
The longest postseason MLB game in terms of length of time was Game 3 of the 2018 World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in an 18-inning game that lasted a whopping seven hours and 20 minutes. After Boston scored in the top of the 13th inning, Max Muncy came around to score on a throwing error by Ian Kinsler. Muncy also finished the game in the 18th inning with a walk-off home run.
Despite losing the longest postseason in MLB history, the Red Sox went on to win the 2018 World Series in five games.
Top-10 Longest Baseball Games In MLB History
There have been 17 games in MLB history that have lasted at least 22 innings.
The last time it happened came in 2008 in an NL West battle between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.
Below, we’ll break down the top 10 longest games in MLB history based on the number of innings played.
| Rank | Date | Game | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 1, 1920 | Brooklyn Robins 1, Boston Braves 1 | 26 innings |
| T2 | May 8, 1984 | Chicago White Sox 7, Milwaukee Brewers 6 | 25 innings |
| T2 | Sept. 11, 1974 | St. Louis Cardinals 4, New York Mets 3 | 25 innings |
| T4 | April 15, 1968 | Houston Astros 1, New York Mets 0 | 24 innings |
| T4 | July 21, 1945 | Detroit Tigers 1, Philadelphia Athletics 1 | 24 innings |
| T4 | Sept. 1, 1906 | Philadelphia Athletics 4, Boston Americans 1 | 24 innings |
| T7 | May 31, 1964 | San Francisco Giants 8, New York Mets 6 | 23 innings |
| T7 | June 27, 1939 | Brooklyn Dodgers 2, Boston Bees 2 | 23 innings |
| T9 | April 17, 2008 | Colorado Rockies 2, San Diego Padres 1 | 22 innings |
| T9 | Aug. 31, 1993 | Minnesota Twins 5, Cleveland Indians 4 | 22 innings |
| T9 | Aug. 23, 1989 | Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Montreal Expos 0 | 22 innings |
| T9 | June 3, 1989 | Houston Astros 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 4 | 22 innings |
| T9 | May 12, 1972 | Milwaukee Brewers 4, Minnesota Twins 3 | 22 innings |
| T9 | June 12, 1967 | Washington Senators 6, Chicago White Sox 5 | 22 innings |
| T9 | June 24, 1962 | New York Yankees 9, Detroit Tigers 7 | 22 innings |
| T9 | May 17, 1927 | Chicago Cubs 4, Boston Braves 3 | 22 innings |
| T9 | Aug. 22, 1917 | Brooklyn Robins 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 5 | 22 innings |
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