No, it is not a misprint.

Saturday’s Twins-White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field does start at 3:12 p.m., the first time a Sox game has been scheduled to begin at 12 past the hour.

First pitch for Sox home games is normally 1:10 or 7:10, not uncommon in major-league baseball, although there’s little uniformity.

In Cincinnati, for instance, many Reds games start at 40 past the hour. Blue Jays games start at seven minutes after the hour. Giants games often start at 6:45.

Cubs games usually start at 1:20, 7:05, 6:05 or even 3:05.

Confusing, yes. So we have questions — and answers — about baseball scheduling.

Who deserves credit for the 3:12 start?

That goes to the marketing people at Goose Island Beer Company, said Sox marketing director Brooks Boyer.

Those are the same folks who brought us the brilliant Cody Parkey-inspired 43-yard kicking contest in January.

“We’re always looking for unique ways to celebrate Chicago at the ballpark,” Boyer said.

“We decided to have a little bit of fun with the area code and with their beer. We build the schedule and look at opportunities like this.”

Goose Island, of course, sells 312 Urban Wheat Ale, named for the Chicago area code that is part of the Sox office phone number.

The Sox will give away hats emblazoned with “312” to the first 10,000 adult fans Saturday.

As it turns out, Major League Baseball wanted teams to shift their schedules around the 12:10 p.m. Yankees-Red Sox game in London that day. So the Sox saw an opening for the 3:12 idea.

The Cubs game in Cincinnati, for instance, starts at 3:10 Saturday. (There is a Nevada company named 310 that makes nutritional products, but it’s probably too late for that sponsorship this season.)

“If we can find a unique way to integrate a sponsor, we’ll give it a shot,” Boyer said.

Will they do it again next year?

“No doubt,” he said.

This isn’t the first sponsored Sox game time, of course. What happened to those 7:11 games?

From 2007 to ’09, the convenience store chain 7-Eleven paid $500,000 per year for all weeknight games to start at 7:11.

“By delaying the start of weeknight dates to 7:11 p.m. instead of the customary 7:05, the Sox are merely operating like the progressive organization they have become,” Tribune columnist Bob Verdi wrote in 2006 when the deal was first announced.

“While struggling businesses such as General Motors opt to enhance their bottom line by cutting costs, the born-again Sox do it the preferred way. They grow revenue.”

So why did it end?

“New people came on board at 7-Eleven,” Boyer said. “And this wasn’t their idea. So it ended up going away.”

Here’s an idea, Mr. Boyer: How about a 7:08 start next year as a nod to suburban fans?

“There you go,” he said diplomatically. “I like it.”

What about starting games earlier?

That is happening across baseball. As a way to offset longer games, some teams have shifted starts to such times as 6:35 or 6:40.

According to Sports Business Journal, “The earlier start times are generally concentrated on lesser attended weeknight games in April and September, when drawing families is more of a challenge.” The Cubs, for instance, had two 6:05 games in May, about a hour earlier than normal.

The primary concern is giving broadcasters enough time to report the starting lineups, pitching matchups and perhaps air the national anthem and other pregame events. It also allows the broadcasters to roll a commercial or two before first pitch.

“You want to get on air, whether it’s TV or radio, … and do some sort of introduction to the broadcast,” Boyer said. “A chance to have a little bit of a pregame show.”

The Cubs are the only team that starts so many day games at 1:20. How did that evolve?

From 1945 to 1979, Cubs home games (all daytime) typically started at 1:30. For many years that allowed WGN-9 to broadcast a 15-minute news show at 1 followed by the 15-minute “Lead-off Man” show at 1:15.

WGN did away with the weekend news show in 1980, so Saturday and Sunday games were moved to 1:20, preceded by an expanded 20-minute “Lead-off Man.”

In 1983, WGN got rid of its 1 p.m. news show on weekdays, too, so the 1:20 start became the standard.

“There is some history and tradition in the 1:20 day game start,” Faulkner said. “And that’s one thing that we have that not every team has. There is something about the 1:20 start that’s special for the Cubs.”

In 1988, night games were finally allowed at Wrigley, and those games started at 6:35 or 7:05. Now most Cubs home night games start at 7:05.

So the Sox had 7:11 and now 3:12. Any gimmick times ahead for the Cubs?

“I’ve been here for 10 years and we haven’t had that discussion,” Faulkner said. “But I’m always sensitive to saying never.”

Sources: Tribune reports, ESPN.com