MLB put out a tribute that provides some perspective on the depth and scope of McCarver’s broadcast career. Take note of how he called Luis Gonzalez’s hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Trivia question: When was the last afternoon game in a World Series?

Answer: Game 6 of the Minnesota-St. Louis World Series in 1987.

I get the idea for having night games in the World Series during the week and even on Sunday, a prime TV viewing night. However, nobody stays home on Saturday night to watch TV.

Indeed, a late Saturday afternoon game would be a prime opportunity to capture some of those younger viewers, especially on the East Coast, for whom the World Series has become a rumor. The 8:07 ET first pitch for all the games means most of them are in bed by the fourth inning.

Check out this tweet from the TV Sports Ratings guy:

Baseball is losing a generation of young fans, who likely won’t grow up to become old fans, by playing all these World Series games at night.

I would bet that the ratings for a late afternoon Saturday World Series game would be comparable to an 8:07 ET start. Even if they were off slightly, so what? Consider it an investment in the game’s future.

Time to let the sun shine, baseball. At least for one game.

Update: It has been pointed out to me that Game 3 of the 2010 World Series started at 6:57 ET, the earliest since 1987. MLB actually made a big deal of it.

From the release back then:

“I am extremely pleased we are able to provide our fans the earliest World Series start time since 1987 with Saturday’s Game Three,'” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “The changes we made with FOX last year to start the World Series games earlier helped increase viewership including more young fans and we are optimistic that the earlier start time for Saturday’s Game Three will keep us moving in the same direction.”

Key to the earlier scheduled start time for Game Three is an additional level of advertising support from Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, and a perennial sponsor of MLB on FOX.

“Starting the game earlier will allow more families to watch together,” said Chris Perry, vice president U.S. marketing, Chevrolet. “This fits perfectly with our commitment to baseball which stretches from youth teams across the country to MLB.”

“We’ve said over the years that if advertisers were willing to support earlier starts at prime time levels, we’d be able to begin games earlier,” said FOX Sports president Eric Shanks. “We’re excited to be working with MLB and Chevrolet, along with our FOX-owned stations and affiliates to make this happen.”

*******

Hmm. Wonder why baseball abandoned the concept?

Jerry Cransnick of ESPN.com talked to Joe Garagiola Jr., who reports to Joe Torre as baseball’s senior vice president of standards and on-field operations, about the long games in the postseason.

“These are the most important games of the year, so you don’t want to ask teams to start doing things that really impact how they approach the game,” Garagiola said from Fenway Park, where Boston is hosting St. Louis in the first two games of the World Series. “That said, the umpires will encourage teams to try to maintain a good pace, because I think everybody likes that.

“But if people are taking a little more time between pitches, or batters are stepping out because they want to compose themselves, it’s because somebody is going to be the world champion at the end of the next eight or nine days. You can’t lose sight of that.”

Later, Garagiola added:

“You have to cut the teams a little slack,” Garagiola said. “If you’re seeing more trips to the mound and looking in the dugouts, this is not the time to be confused or unclear or have the pitcher and catcher not be on the same page. One swing and everybody goes home.”

Obviously, everyone knows where I stand on this issue. My questions to Garagiola Jr.: Why is it different now than when your dad played in the 40s and 50s and called games in the 70s and 80s? Weren’t the stakes just as high back then? How come they were able to finish games in 2:15-2:30?

Even if you add the additional 20 minutes for commercials, the 2:30 game only is 2:50. Prior to last night, the average game during the postseason was 3:22. While last night’s Game 2 was a relatively quick 3:05, that’s still too long for a 4-2 game.

Please Joe Jr., do something about the pace.

Great game last night, right? Sure, but there’s still something wrong about a 4-3 game lasting 3 hours, 47 minutes.

It isn’t just me complaining. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jim Caple weighed in, obviously tired of watching endless games.

Caple wrote:

Almost four hours for a 1-0 game in which one team didn’t get a hit until the ninth inning? What, are they trying to keep pace with the Republicans and Democrats in Congress?

And no, the American League broadcast did not include more commercials, although you could probably air a couple of Geico ads during a typical Boston at-bat and not miss anything important.

It isn’t just the Red Sox.

Much of the blame for these lengthy games goes to the Red Sox, who grind out at-bats until the starter reaches his pitch limit or simply falls asleep on the mound. But it’s not just them. The Athletics and Tigers played a 1-0 game in their division series that lasted nearly three and a half hours. Sonny Gray’s mustache had almost filled out by the time that game ended.

Caple concludes:

Batters will contend that working the count wears down the pitcher, gets them better pitches to hit and makes them more successful. But mostly, it just means they strike out more often. Batting averages are lower than they’ve been since before the DH era began. Strikeouts are at an all-time high. Players are not hitting any better; they’re just taking longer to fail.

Look, if you aren’t going to hit the ball, don’t waste our time. Stay in the box. Don’t fiddle with your gloves. Just get it over with in three pitches and grab some bench.

We don’t want to finish the game with beards that would shame the Smith cough drop brothers.

Amen to that.

If anyone deserves to have a documentary, it is Mariano Rivera. If it is possible, you will have an even higher opinion of the Yankees great after watching this film.

There’s a moving segment in which prior to a game, Rivera meets with a Kansas City family, which had just lost a son. The compassion that he shows gets to the heart of Rivera.

This is film you should watch with your kids. Talk about setting an example.

Here is the official rundown from Fox.

Baseball debates are as old as the game itself: Ruth or Aaron? Feller or Ryan? Brock or Henderson?  However, there is one position where debate is pointless: Who is the game’s best closer?  On this, fans, players, coaches, historians and media all agree:  Mariano Rivera, and as most know, the 2013 regular season was his last as an active player.  Granted unprecedented and exclusive access to many of Rivera’s most private moments since before spring training, BEING: MARIANO RIVERA, the definitive 90-minute television documentary from FOX Sports Originals, Relativity Television and Major League Baseball Productions on the reticent superstar’s final season in pinstripes, premieres Sunday, Oct. 20 on FOX (2:30 or 4:30 PM ET; check local listings), with an encore presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 22 on FOX Sports 1 (8:30 PM ET).

A man of deep religious conviction, Rivera was a ferocious competitor who, win or lose, always respected the game.  A nurturing teammate, he freely offered guidance to young pitchers hoping to attain a fraction of his consistency and success, awestruck by his staggering career statistics: 19-years, all with the New York Yankees; 13-time All-Star; seven World Series, winning five; 652 career saves, with another 42 in postseason play.

“Throughout his remarkable career Rivera shied away from the spotlight and simply let his dominance over hitters and good work off-the-field speak volumes, so perhaps its counterintuitive that he would agree to allow cameras access to such intimate moments, but that’s just what he did,” said Michael Bloom, FOX Sports’ Senior Vice President, Original Programming.  “It will be an honor to present BEING: MARIANO RIVERA on FOX Sports and FOX Sports 1.”

“We’re honored and privileged that a man universally regarded as the best to ever play his position let us in to uncover the mystique of his final season,” said Tom Forman, CEO of Relativity Television.  “Our cameras find him in never-before-seen moments at work, at play, with family and friends, baseball legends, competitors and politicians alike.  Despite what fans may have already seen, BEING: MARIANO RIVERA is more thorough than any televised tribute to date.”

“MLB Productions has a proven track record and has established a significant level of trust among MLB players over the years, but given how closely Mariano guards his privacy, we’re extremely appreciative of the access he has granted us this season,” added Chris Tully, Senior Vice President, Broadcasting, Major League Baseball. “This special is a rare glimpse behind the curtain with one of the truly legendary figures in the game.”

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News discovered this gem: A broadcast of a Dodgers-Cardinals game from the Coliseum on July 25, 1959. Jack Brickhouse, a legend, is on the call.

As you know, I’ve been on my soapbox about the maddening length of baseball games. Well, take a look at this video and it is painfully obvious what occurred back then.

The batters stayed in the box between pitches and the pitchers worked quickly. Really simple.

Lo and behold, what was the result? The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 4-2 in 2 hours, 11 minutes.

Oh by the way, the game went 10 innings. Yes, an extra inning game was completed in about the same time it takes the today’s game to get through six innings.

Yesterday’s game times: Detroit-Boston: 3:27; Cardinals-Dodgers: 3:10.

Take a good look at this video, Major League Baseball. This is how they used to play your game. Time to turn back the clock and do it this way again.