Don't know the answer to your question, but I actually have been lovin' the 7 inning games. In fact, I would like to see it become a permanent thing for all 162 games.
The upsides are numerous: less wear and tear on the players; fewer pitchers needed; starting pitching becomes more important again; shorter game times; more double-headers could be scheduled which would result in more days off and a later start to the season.
What's the downside? I know it would mess with the stats a bit, but a full season used to be 154 games and even fewer than that if you go way back, so the at-bats wouldn't drop that much by comparison.
I don't know who enjoys 4 hour baseball games, but it ain't me.
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