Major League Baseball is one of the few sports in which there is no true game clock. For that reason, pinpointing the expected length of matchups can sometimes prove impossible.
There are no buzzer beaters. The losing team is always given a fair shot at redemption. The game is not over until the final out is recorded.
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If the score hasn’t been settled by the 27th out, free baseball ensues. Extra innings can provide drama. The longer a game goes, the more important every pitch becomes.
The league has seen 17 contests reach the 22-inning mark. Only eight have gone to 23 innings or more. Those matchups can range from pitchers’ duels to slugfests. Every game is truly different.
Recent rule changes regarding extra innings might make these soon-to-be mentioned records unattainable as there’s been an effort to get through games more quickly. Below are the longest games in MLB history.
San Francisco Giants v. New York Mets (1964)
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The Giants and Mets went 23 innings during a matchup on May 31 in 1964. That game took place during the debut season at Shea Stadium.
The second game of a double header, the Giants battled to an 8-6 road win after jumping out to an initial 6-1 lead.
Brooklyn Dodgers v. Boston Bees (1939)
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On July 27, 1939, the Boston Bees and Brooklyn Dodgers went toe to toe for 23 innings in Beantown.
Boston took an early 2-0 lead before Brooklyn evened the score in the eighth frame. The game would eventually end in a 2-2 tie after a string of 15 consecutive scoreless innings.
Houston Astros v. New York Mets (1968)
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The Mets and Astros squared off in Houston for an April 15th meeting in 1968. They’d play 24 innings of one-run baseball.
The two teams were held scoreless for the first 23 frames. Houston broke the tie in the bottom of the 24th to land the win. It remains the longest a game has stayed scoreless in MLB history.
Detroit Tigers v. Philadelphia Athletics (1945)
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The Tigers and Athletics played a 1945 matchup on July 21st that lasted 24 frames. It eventually ended in a 1-1 tie.
Each team used four pitchers. The game lasted just four hours and 48 minutes, a relatively short time given the circumstances.
Philadelphia Athletics v. Boston Americans (1906)
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The Athletics make another appearance on the list with this 1906 meeting against the Boston Americans. This game, too, went 24 innings.
Philadelphia was able to get the win in this instance, 4-1. Somehow, the A’s had the same manager for both 24-inning contests, which were four decades apart.
Chicago White Sox v. Milwaukee Brewers (1984)
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In what is still the longest MLB game in terms of time, the Brewers and White Sox played for more than eight hours across two days in 1984.
The game was suspended after the 17 innings with the score tied, 3-3. Milwaukee had multiple chances to win, but they’d eventually fall in the bottom of the 25th inning, 7-6.
St. Louis Cardinals v. New York Mets (1974)
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On September 11, 1974, the Cardinals and Mets played a 25-inning game in Shea Stadium. St. Louis would win, 4-3.
This is New York’s third time on the list having played (and lost) a 23-, 24-, and 25-inning game.
Brooklyn Robins v. Boston Braves (1920)
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The longest game in MLB history is a 26-inning matchup between the Brooklyn Robins and the Boston Braves. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.
These two teams were previously mentioned on this list under different nicknames thanks to the 23-inning game that would occur 20 years later.
Unbelievably, both pitchers went the distance in this lengthy bout with neither allowing a run over the final 20 frames.