Has anyone heard a reason why every MLB game on Sunday starts at 3:05 or 3:10 Eastern Time regardless of the time zone it is in? Found this quite interesting but could not find an "official" reason. I can come up with a few like "Fairness in travel for Tues. first game, or a TV slot and wanting to have that one game that is meaningful."

 

So if anybody knows the actual reason please post. I am not sure I have ever seen this before, particularly when you figure games on the west coast on going to start at 12:10 on a Sunday.

Were they scheduled like this before the season? I don't have an official reason but my guess would be for competitive balance. If one team is a game up and has a later start time, they can wait for an outcome of a game to decide what their line up would be thus saving a pitcher for playoffs.

And after a google search:

 

MLB schedules Game 162 for every team at same time for max drama - CBSSports.com

The EPL does this, on the last day of the season, so that all games with championship and relegation implications are completed at the approximately same time. Of course, they have no playoff system.

I actually like this idea. It does help with a game that lets say is on the west coast becoming meaningless after the outcome of an earlier game.

And after a google search:

 

MLB schedules Game 162 for every team at same time for max drama - CBSSports.com

 

The article makes a great point about what the Cardinals were able to do last season.