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I'd be interested to see a similar breakdown of a baseball game. If you count from the pitcher's release to the end of a play (basically, when the ball is in motion), I bet the total would clock in somewhere around 15 minutes.

Edit: 15 minutes on average. Of course baseball isn't timeboxed like most other sports.

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When the pitcher steps on the rubber would be a better starting point for the start of the play. Many plays don't even involve a pitch, and wouldn't be counted in your definition.

Pick-off moves were the first thing that came to my mind.

That's a great point and I agree with you. However by that logic, shouldn't the amount of time counted for football include when the quarterback comes under center? There's a lot of football going on when Peyton Manning comes to the line of scrimmage. Or when a quarterback is trying to draw the defense offsides.

MLB.com features condensed games that do exactly this. And you're right about the time. But I found it less surprising since there isn't an active clock in baseball.

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