HOUSTON — Major League Baseball’s 2021 postseason has provided no shortage of thrills, from startling walk-off hits to feats of individual strength and gallant performances from mound to batter’s box.
It’s also provided the following:
An average game time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, an entire half-hour longer than the slowest-ever 3:10 benchmark set this season.
An average starting pitcher lasting just 4.1 innings, a figure that drops to 3.67 innings in the American League, what with managers even freer to ponder matchups with pitchers not required to hit.