Relief pitcher
In
History
Pre-bullpen
In the early days of
Early modern relievers/"firemen"
Firpo Marberry is credited with being the first prominent reliever. From 1923 to 1935, he pitched in 551 games, 364 of which were in relief. Baseball historian Bill James wrote that Marberry was "a modern reliever—a hard throwing young kid who worked strictly in relief, worked often, and was used to nail down victories".[6] Another reliever, Johnny Murphy, became known as "Fireman" for his effectiveness when inserted into difficult situations ("put out fires") in relief.[7]
Nonetheless, the full-time reliever who was entrusted with important situations was more the exception than the rule at this point. Often, a team's ace starting pitcher was used in between his starts to "close" games. Later research would reveal that Lefty Grove would have been in his league's top three in saves in four different seasons, had that stat been invented at the time.[8]
Gradually after World War II, full-time relievers became more acceptable and standard.
In 1969, the
Closer era
Relievers became more respected in the 1970s, and their pay increased due to
As closers were reduced to one-inning specialists,
In past decades, the relief pitcher was merely an ex-starter who came into a game upon the injury, ineffectiveness, or fatigue of the starting pitcher. The bullpen was for old starters who had lost the ability to throw effectively. Many of these pitchers would be able to flourish in this diminished role. Those such as Dennis Eckersley, as with many others, actually prolonged their tapering careers and often sparked them to new life. The added rest to their arms as well as the lessened exposure of their abilities became an advantage many would learn to capitalize on. Because these pitchers only faced some batters once a season, the opposing side would have greater difficulty preparing to face relief pitchers.
Recently, being a relief pitcher has become more of a career, rather than a reduced position. Many of today's top prospects are considered mainly for their relief pitching skills.[16] In the quest for a managerial edge, managers as time goes on have carried more pitchers in the bullpen, and used them in more specialized situations. Acknowledgment of the platoon edge has prompted managers to ensure that opposing lefty hitters face as many lefty pitchers as possible, and that the same occur with respect to righty hitters and pitchers. Tony La Russa was particularly well known for making frequent pitching changes on this basis.[17]
When Mike Marshall set the all-time record with 106 games pitched in 1974, he threw 208.1 innings.[18] Currently, although some relievers still do appear in a large number of games per season, the workload for each individual pitcher has been much reduced. Since 2008, Pedro Feliciano has three of the top four seasons in games pitched, with 92, 88 and 86. However, Feliciano only averaged 58 innings pitched during those seasons.[19] The last pitcher to throw 100 or more innings in a season without starting a game was Scott Proctor in 2006.[20]
From the mid-2010s onward, MLB teams have given relievers an increasing number of innings at the expense of starters, due to the baseball game moving towards higher variance, and a flexible bullpen does give the manager more options of defending against high risk offensive strategies. In response, some teams have allocated funds and made trades to create a "super bullpen", nonetheless this is no guarantee of success since the performance of relief pitchers has been shown to fluctuate much more wildly than starting pitchers. For instance the 2016 and 2017
Current relief roles
Pitching staffs on MLB teams have grown from 9 or 10 to as many as 12 or 13 pitchers, due to the increased importance of relief pitching.
The closer is usually the best relief pitcher, followed by the setup man.[26] Players typically get promoted into later-inning roles as they succeed.[27][28] Relievers were previously more multipurpose before becoming one-inning specialists.[28][29]
The setup man and closer will normally only be used to preserve a lead, although they may enter to maintain a close game (where the score is tied or if their team is trailing by only a few runs) particularly in the playoffs. If the team is significantly behind going into the eighth or ninth inning and a relief pitcher is required, usually a middle reliever or two will be chosen to soak up innings, while the setup man and closer are saved for the next time they are needed to preserve a win.[30] The proper use of the bullpen is to avoid using an effective reliever on a low-leverage situation, instead saving them as "fireman" for high-leverage situations (such as bases-loaded, no-outs).[31][32]
In 2018, some MLB teams began experimenting with an opener – a pitcher who is normally a reliever that starts the game for an inning or two before yielding to someone who would normally be a starter. Sometimes the manager replaces an opener with a series of other relievers who would only pitch one or two innings in a game, usually due to injury or fatigue affecting the team's starters or other strategical reasons; this approach became known as a bullpen game. One advantage of this approach is that the opener, who is often a hard-throwing specialist, can be called in to face the most dangerous hitters, who are usually near the top of the batting order, the first time they come to bat.[33] Although the opener has only been formally regarded as a relief role in 2018, managers have sporadically used a reliever before a starter. A good example is Game 6 of the 1990 National League Championship Series when Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland started a set-up man, Ted Power, in order to keep the Cincinnati Reds from employing their successful platoon (Power pitched 2+1⁄3 innings prior to giving way to lefty starter Zane Smith in the third inning) and the strategy worked in holding the Reds to only two runs; to deceive his opponents Leyland had announced the Game 6 starter at a press conference so that the Reds would set their batting order around Smith.[34]
Starting pitchers as relievers
Between their scheduled starts in the rotation, a starting pitcher can be used on short rest for the bullpen. They are sometimes used as relievers when the stakes are higher, such as a game that could decide the division title or an elimination (winner-take all) playoff game. Currently, starters are typically used in relief situations either early in the postseason prior to their scheduled rotation start, or late in the postseason after their last scheduled start (often with "the ultimatum of a series clincher"). However, the
Regarded as a "almost universal truth in baseball", "almost every starting pitcher would be better in relief".[35] However, a starter may not necessarily be best used as a "fireman" (to stop a rally) since "the conventional wisdom is that it’s unwise to bring a starter in for a relief appearance with men already on base; starting pitchers take longer to warm up than relievers and tend to be most comfortable when coming in at the start of an inning with the bases empty".[36][37]
A good example of starters in relief was in the deciding Game 6 of the
Starter Madison Bumgarner recorded the longest save in World Series history, pitching five scoreless innings of relief in a Game 7 3–2 victory of the 2014 edition.[41] In the 2018 World Series, starter Nathan Eovaldi, originally slated to pitch Game 4, was inserted in relief during Game 3 which turned into an 18-inning marathon. In making World Series history, he became the first reliever to throw at least six innings after Rick Rhoden did so in 1977, while Eovaldi's 97 pitches set the record for the most by a reliever (and also 36 more pitches than Rick Porcello who had started that game).[42][43][44][45]
In the clinching Games of the
Position players as relievers
In games where a blowout is occurring, position players (non-pitchers) may be substituted in to pitch to save the bullpen for the next game. However, this is a rare occurrence as position players are not truly trained as pitchers, and tend to throw with less velocity and/or accuracy. There is also the increased risk of injury, such as Jose Canseco who suffered a season-ending arm injury after pitching two innings in a 1993 game. For these reasons, managers will typically only use a position player as a pitcher in a blowout loss, or in order to avoid a forfeit once they have run out of available pitchers. Typically, the position player also pitched at the high school or collegiate level, as smaller roster sizes at amateur levels forced some position players to pitch, with some were recruited in college also as pitchers, as starters or relievers. Mitch Moreland (Mississippi State), Ryan Rua (Lake Erie College), and J. D. Davis, (Cal State Fullerton) all played as both position players and pitchers in their collegiate careers, with Rua and Davis both being closers for their college teams.
Cliff Pennington became the first position player in Major League Baseball history to pitch in a postseason game, which was during Game 4 of the 2015 American League Championship Series.[49][50] The second position player to pitch in the playoffs was Austin Romine during Game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series.[51][52]
Starting in 2023, MLB position players are allowed to pitch in a game under the following conditions:[53]
- The leading team can only use a position player in this role in the ninth inning, and with a lead of at least 10 runs.
- A team behind by eight or more runs can use a position player to pitch at any time in the game.
- The use of position players as pitchers in extra innings is unrestricted.
Awards given to relievers
The
Compared to starting pitchers, most relievers (with the except of closers with large save totals) receive few awards and honors.
Setup pitchers typically make less than the MLB average salary.[56][57] Relief pitchers further down the line may be journeymen as their individual performances may vary greatly (often specialised to pitch against certain types of batters, such as to right-handed batters only or left-handed batters only), even though their team's relief pitching staff as a whole is overall effective.[58]
The rising importance placed on relief pitchers is evident in the rising star power of the closer. It has gotten to the point where closers are among the biggest stars in the game, with status and salaries on par with starting pitchers. When closers play at home, and when they are called into the game to preserve a lead for the crucial last inning or those last couple of outs, many of them trot in from the bullpen to the pitchers mound accompanied by a theme song of their choice. For many years with the
Eight pitchers are currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame chiefly for their accomplishments as relief pitchers: Goose Gossage, Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter, Dennis Eckersley, Lee Smith, Hoffman, and Rivera. Eckersley, who was considered the first modern closer pitching exclusively in ninth inning situations, also had a significant career as a starting pitcher and even threw a no-hitter in 1977. Another pitcher entering the Hall in 2015, John Smoltz, was primarily a starter, but spent four seasons as a reliever.
Year | League | Player | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1976 | National | Butch Metzger | San Diego Padres |
1980 | National | Steve Howe | Los Angeles Dodgers |
1986 | National | Todd Worrell | St. Louis Cardinals |
1989 | American | Gregg Olson | Baltimore Orioles |
1999 | National | Scott Williamson | Cincinnati Reds |
2000 | American | Kazuhiro Sasaki | Seattle Mariners |
2005 | American | Huston Street | Oakland Athletics |
2009 | American | Andrew Bailey | Oakland Athletics |
2010 | American | Neftalí Feliz | Texas Rangers |
2011 | National | Craig Kimbrel | Atlanta Braves |
2020 | National | Devin Williams | Milwaukee Brewers |
Year | League | Player | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | National | Mike Marshall | Los Angeles Dodgers |
1977 | American | Sparky Lyle | New York Yankees |
1979 | National | Bruce Sutter | Chicago Cubs |
1981 | American | Rollie Fingers | Milwaukee Brewers |
1984 | American | Willie Hernández | Detroit Tigers |
1987 | National | Steve Bedrosian | Philadelphia Phillies |
1989 | National | Mark Davis | San Diego Padres |
1992 | American | Dennis Eckersley | Oakland Athletics |
2003 | National | Éric Gagné | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Year | League | Player | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1950 | National | Jim Konstanty | Philadelphia Phillies |
1981 | American | Rollie Fingers | Milwaukee Brewers |
1984 | American | Willie Hernández | Detroit Tigers |
1992 | American | Dennis Eckersley | Oakland Athletics |
See also
- 300 save club
- Hold
- This Year in Baseball Awards (including Starting Pitcher, Setup Pitcher, and Closer)
Notes
- ISBN 978-1-60078-312-8.
- ^ Kull, Andrew (April 1985). "Baseball's Greatest Pitcher". American Heritage. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- ^ Garro, Adrian (June 28, 2016). "It's a Maddon world: Three pitchers played left field for the Cubs, and it worked". MLB.com. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 7.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 10, 15.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 22–23.
- ^ "Lefty Grove Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 33.
- ^ a b Zimniuch 2010, p. 34.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 38–45.
- ^ a b Zimniuch 2010, p. 80.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 129.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 78.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 168–9.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 161.
- ^ "Tony la Russa changed the game and now he leaves it on top - Tom Verducci - SI.com". Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ "Mike Marshall Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "For single seasons, From 2008 to 2012, sorted by greatest Games Played: Results - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "For single seasons, From 2006 to 2012, (requiring IP≥100 and At least 100% games in relief), sorted by greatest Games Played: Results - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Cleveland's bullpen proves the baseball gods are cruel". July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Three lessons not to draw from Nationals' remarkable 2019 World Series win - Sportsnet.ca".
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. xxi, 153–4.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 159, 166–7.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 154.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 163.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, pp. 165, 171–3.
- ^ a b Passan, Jeff (April 26, 2010). "Should managers play Scrabble with relievers?". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 167.
- ^ Baseball Explained by Phillip Mahony, McFarland Books, 2014. See www.baseballexplained.com Archived August 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Aaron Boone's Game 3 Pitching Calls Were Confounding". October 9, 2018.
- ^ "Ryan Madson and the Dodgers Are Faltering when It Matters Most". October 25, 2018.
- ^ Justice, Richard (September 27, 2018). "Could the 'opener' be utilized in postseason?". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
- ^ "Openers? Bullpenning? It's not nearly as new as you think". October 4, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Red Sox starters won the World Series -- from the bullpen". October 29, 2018.
- ^ "A.J. Hinch Lost His Managerial Magic, and the Astros Lost the World Series". October 31, 2019.
- ^ "Inside the Moments That Flipped the World Series". November 4, 2019.
- ^ "Giants just good enough, which is plenty". October 24, 2010. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.]["2010 NLCS: San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies - MLB Playoffs". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ "Matthews: Girardi sank season in fifth inning". ESPN.com. October 23, 2010. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
- ^ "Caple: Yankees come up flat, fall to Rangers in ALCS". October 22, 2010.
- ^ "Did you know: Madison Bumgarner makes history". Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ Silverman, Michael (October 27, 2018). "Nathan Eovaldi's legend grows after 'amazing' effort". Boston Herald. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
- ^ "Sox inspired by Eovaldi's epic performance". MLB.com.
- ^ "Rick Porcello Cried After Watching Nathan Eovaldi's Performance in World Series". Bleacher Report.
- ^ "Team of this century? Sox win 4th title since '04". MLB.com.
- ^ "David Price changes narrative, becomes a playoff ace for Red Sox in World Series victory over Dodgers". October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Sale will only relieve in G5 in 'perfect situation'". MLB.com.
- ^ "Joe Kelly was Boston's unsung hero in the World Series". October 29, 2018.
- ^ Brisbee, Grant (October 20, 2015). "Blue Jays' Cliff Pennington becomes first position player to pitch in the postseason". SB Nation. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ Kilgore, Adam (October 21, 2015). "Cliff Pennington pitched in an ALCS game because the Royals are a storm" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- TheGuardian.com. October 9, 2018.
- ^ "Aaron Boone's Game 3 Pitching Calls Were Confounding". October 9, 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Jesse (February 13, 2023). "Source: Extra-inning, extra-runner rule to remain". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ a b Rancel, Tommy (June 24, 2013). "Set-up guys who would be worthy All-Stars". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014.
- ^ "1996 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-60078-312-8.
- ISBN 978-0-312-33265-5. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- ^ "Cleveland's bullpen proves the baseball gods are cruel". July 11, 2018.
- ^ Baseball Explained by Phillip Mahony, McFarland Books, 2014. See www.baseballexplained.com Archived August 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 28.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p. 84.
- ^ Zimniuch 2010, p.169
- ^ "MLB on Yahoo! Sports - News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games". Yahoo Sports.
- ^ Jenkins, Chris (September 25, 2006). "Where's the fire?". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.
External links
- Examining the Relief of Relieving, by Steve Treder; July 04, 2006 at hardballtimes.com.