Red Sox owner John Henry: Pace of play is a concern

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry says the pace of the game must be picked up and thinks baseball’s next commissioner needs to have a business background. Games are averaging about 3:08 this season, more than 20 minutes longer than 10 years ago.

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry says the pace of the game must be picked up and that baseball’s next commissioner needs to have a business background.

Games are averaging about 3:08 this season, more than 20 minutes longer than 10 years ago.  While it has nothing to do with the pace of the game, there were two 19-inning games in the past week alone. 

More: Why pace of play has slowed to a crawl, and a dozen ways to fix it 

“Attention spans are shortening in regard to media. That has been the case for some time now,” Henry said, via the Boston Herald. “Making fans wait between pitches isn’t a big issue at the ballpark, but on TV it’s very easy to switch to something else."

The Red Sox have the third-worst record in the American League, just a season after winning their third World Series Championship in the past 10 years. Henry says the team’s cable network, NESN, is taking a hit because of the slump. 

“Ratings are down as you would expect from the play of the team this year,” Henry said. “However, this is highly unusual the year after winning the World Series. That being said, ratings for MLB are down across the board this year.”

- Scooby Axson