How Many Innings Does it Take to Make a Baseball Game Official?
Contents
A look at how many innings are needed to make a baseball game official, as well as some interesting facts and history about the rule.
The answer according to the MLB rulebook
According to the MLB rulebook, a game is considered official after 5 innings have been completed, or 4 innings if the home team is ahead. If the game is tied after 9 innings, it will go into extra innings until one team is ahead after a complete inning.
The answer according to baseball history
According to baseball history, a game is official after five innings if the team that is ahead after five innings is also ahead after seven innings. If the score is tied after seven innings, the game goes into extra innings until one team is ahead after nine innings.
The answer according to baseball tradition
According to baseball tradition, a game is considered official after 5 innings have been completed. If the game is called off due to rain or other reasons before 5 innings have been completed, it is considered a “suspended game” and can be resumed at a later date from the point where it was left off.
The answer according to baseball statistics
The answer according to baseball statistics is that a baseball game is official after 5 innings have been played. This means that if the game is called due to weather or other reasons, the teams will have played a minimum of 5 innings and the score will be considered final.