I wouldn't say they're "so much longer" now (since the pitch clock was implemented, that is). This year, 9 inning games averaged 2:38. In 1960, they ran 2:33. There are lots of factors that contribute to longer gametime. A couple that correlate with the general trend for longer:
- pitchers/game: 2025: 4.29, 1960: 2.45
- strikeouts/game: 2025: 8.36, 1960: 5.18
Commercial breaks are currently limited to 2 minutes by rule, and it takes some time just to run on and off the field, so I am dubious of the impact of that. (Though the rule has changed, and I forget whether there were an additional 20 minutes because of that back in the 1990s/2000s.)
That said, unless it were a stellar pitching duel, I'd really despise constant sub-2 hour games.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/bat.shtml
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/warmup-pitches
That said, unless it were a stellar pitching duel, I'd really despise constant sub-2 hour games.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/bat.shtml
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/warmup-pitches