Average Length of Games Increased Six Minutes
So much for Commissioner Bud Selig’s desire to quicken major league games.
The average time of a nine-inning game increased six minutes this year to 2 hours 53 minutes, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, baseball’s statistician. That’s one minute short of the record length set in 1994.
In February 1998, a memo was sent to teams outlining a series of steps to speed up games, and the average dropped five minutes last year to 2:47. But enforcement seems to have slackened.
*
Shareholders of the Montreal Expos said they had reached agreement in principle to transfer control of the financially ailing team and keep it in the city.
A spokesman for the team, said an agreement was struck for a group headed by wealthy New York art dealer Jeffrey Loria to save the team. Expo chairman Jacques Menard said Loria would become Expo president and hold 35% of team’s shares.
*
John Jaha, who resuscitated his career with the Oakland Athletics this season, signed a two-year, $6-million contract with the team. Jaha, 33, was plagued by injuries to his left foot and shoulder over two previous seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers before signing a minor league contract with the A’s. He hit .276 with a 35 home runs and 111 runs batted in. . . . Danys Baez, who abandoned Cuba’s national team in August, worked out for about a dozen major league scouts in San Jose, Costa Rica, showing off his 98-mph fastball.
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.