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In the early days of baseball, the term "ace" was used to refer to a run.
Modern baseball analysts and fans have started using the term "ace" to refer to the elite pitchers in the game, not necessarily to the best starting pitcher on each team. For example, the April 27, 1981, "Sports Illustrated" cover was captioned "The Amazing A's and Their Five Aces" to describe the starting rotation of the 1981 Oakland Athletics.
In baseball, the double switch is a type of player substitution, usually performed by a team while playing defense. The double switch is typically used to make a pitching substitution, while simultaneously placing the incoming pitcher in a more favorable spot in the batting order than was occupied by the outgoing pitcher. (On the assumption that the pitcher will be a poor hitter, the incoming pitcher will generally take the spot in the batting order of a position player who has recently batted, so as to avoid the pitcher making a plate appearance in the next couple of innings.) To perform a double switch (or any other substitution), the ball must be dead.
Since the batting order can be changed only as a result of a player substitution, while the defensive arrangement may be changed freely (among players currently in the game), the double switch typically takes the following form:
In the short term, the lineup is strengthened because a poor-hitting pitcher will not make a plate appearance soon. The disadvantage is that a position player must be removed from play and replaced by another, often inferior, position player. The advantage of the double switch over pinch hitting is that it uses up fewer players. If a relief pitcher is brought in before the at-bat, then the manager can substitute a pinch-hitter for him. However, this would require a new pitcher for the next half-inning. By using a double switch, an incoming pitcher can be left in the game for a substantial period before his turn in the batting lineup arrives, no matter what the previous batting order was.
When the team is up to bat, a manager can get the same effect as a double switch by leaving in the player who has pinch-hit for the pitcher and replacing another player in the lineup who has made the last out of the inning with a new pitcher. This will take the following form:
A double switch has infrequently resulted in a team batting out of turn because the lineup card was not updated to reflect the change, either because the umpires were not informed of the change, or because the change was not recorded. In addition, because double-switches are typically communicated verbally, it creates opportunities for confusion and miscommunication that can be costly to the switching team.
Power pitcher is a term in baseball for a pitcher who relies on pitch velocity at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts, and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of power. An average pitcher strikes out about 5 batters per nine innings while a power pitcher will often strike out one or more every inning. The prototypical power pitcher is National Baseball Hall of Fame member, Nolan Ryan, who struck out a Major League Baseball record 5,714 batters in 5,386 innings. Ryan recorded seven no-hitters, appeared in eight Major League Baseball All-Star Games but also holds the record for most walks issued (2,795).
A famous fictional example of a power pitcher is Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn from the film "Major League", a character sports journalist Scott Lauber once called "the power pitcher everyone on my high school baseball team wished they were". Actor Charlie Sheen performed that role; he had actually played baseball earlier in his life, prior to acting, as a pitcher. Additional, non-fictional prominent power pitchers include Hall of Famers Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Bob Feller. Feller himself famously led his league in strikeouts and walks several times.
The traditional school of thought on power pitching was known as "throw till you blow". However, multimillion-dollar contracts have changed mentalities. The number of pitches thrown is now counted by a team's staff, with particular attention paid to young power arms. The care which some of the older power pitchers took with their arms has allowed for long careers and further opportunity after they have stopped playing. For example, player Roger Clemens has remained in the public eye for years.
The infield shift in baseball is a defensive realignment from the standard positions to blanket one side of the field or another. Used primarily against left-handed batters, it is designed to protect against base hits pulled hard into the gaps between the fielders on one side. Originally called the Williams shift, it has periodically been referred to as the Boudreau shift or Ortiz shift since then.
The infield shift strategy is often associated with Ted Williams, but it was actually first employed against Cy Williams during the 1920s. Cy Williams, a left-handed outfielder with the Chicago Cubs (1912–1917) and Philadelphia Phillies (1918–1930), was second only to Babe Ruth in major league career home runs from 1923 to 1928. Opposing defenses would shift "practically to the entire right side" when he batted.
The shift was later used against Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox during the 1946 World Series, as a defensive gimmick by St. Louis Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer to psych out and hopefully contain the Boston slugger. It was devised by Cleveland Indians manager Lou Boudreau between games of a doubleheader in July 1946 to halt Williams' hot hitting. In his book "Player-Manager", Boudreau wrote, "I have always regarded the Boudreau Shift as a psychological, rather than a tactical, victory."
The shift has subsequently been employed to thwart extreme pull hitters (mostly lefties), such as Barry Bonds, Ryan Howard, Jason Giambi, David Ortiz, Jim Thome, Adam Dunn, and Mark Teixeira.
The Ortiz shift consists of a baseball infield defense, however the shortstop and second baseman move to the outfield between first and second base while the left and center fielder are moved towards the right side of the field with the third baseman going to the left side of the outfield.
Baseball historian Bill James—who worked for the Red Sox at the time—criticized the Ortiz shift as only working for ground balls and not for home runs, which he described as Ortiz's true danger. Though the shift was mostly used against Ortiz, it has been used elsewhere in baseball.
As the infield shift leaves some areas less covered than others, the batter who hits toward those areas may obtain better results than against an un-shifted infield. A stark example occurred in a 1970 game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants: Giant Willie McCovey bunted hard down the third base line when the shift was on. With no one covering third, Willie Mays, on first at the time, came all the way around to score, while McCovey reached second for a double.
Infield shifts can also provide base running opportunities to the batting team. A notable example occurred in Game 4 of the 2009 World Series: with switch hitter Mark Teixeira of the New York Yankees batting left-handed, and the Philadelphia Phillies implementing an infield shift, baserunner Johnny Damon stole second base and then continued on to third base in one continuous play, as there was no fielder on the left side of the infield. Damon would later score what proved to be the winning run of the game.
The shift can be countered by the batter bunting towards third base, as the third baseman is positioned in the outfield. For example, Ortiz started to hit more balls towards the left side of the field, taking advantage of the lack of position players in left field. It was stated that a 2015 Major League Baseball proposal to ban defensive shifts would have benefited Ortiz.
As early as 2015, the Commissioner of Baseball considered banning the shift, with some MLB managers expressing agreement, although there is no consensus on such an idea. In 2019, the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, as part of an agreement with MLB to test experimental rules, has banned (or significantly restricted) the shift by requiring two infielders to be positioned on either side of second base.
In baseball, a ground ball pitcher (also ground-ball pitcher or groundball pitcher) is a type of pitcher that has a tendency to induce ground balls from opposing batters. The average ground ball pitcher has a ground ball rate of at least 50% with extreme ground ball pitchers maintaining a ground ball rate of around 55%. Pitchers with a ground ball rate lower than 50% may be classified as flyball pitchers or as pitchers who exhibit the tendencies of both ground ball and fly ball pitchers. Ground ball pitchers rely on pitches that are low in the strike zone with substantial downward movement, such as splitters and sinker balls.
Baseball analysts and sabermetricians Tom Tango, Mitchel Lichtman, and Andrew Dolphin agree that ground ball pitchers are generally better pitchers than those with fly ball tendencies. Meanwhile, baseball writer and analyst Bill James argues the opposite because of injury patterns among ground ball pitchers.
Against a ground ball pitcher, batters tend to ground out rather than fly out. A ground ball pitcher’s ability to keep balls in the infield in turn keeps balls from resulting in home runs which, according to Hardball Times writer David Gassko, is the strongest benefit of a ground ball pitcher. When a ground ball pitcher does allow a pitch to be bat into the air, it is likely to result in a line drive.
Compared to fly ball pitchers, ground ball pitchers generally allow fewer extra base hits yet more total hits. Likewise, ground ball pitchers tend to give up fewer home runs than fly ball pitchers.
Ground ball pitchers tend to perform better against ground ball hitters than they perform against fly ball hitters.
Compared to fly ball pitchers, ground ball pitchers are more likely to allow unearned runs. David Gassko notes that 2.23% of ground balls result in an error, and these errors account for 85% of all errors. Accordingly, as Gassko argues, the susceptibility of ground balls to errors results in more unearned runs.
With runners on base, ground ball pitchers often force double plays because the weak contact batters make with a ground ball pitcher’s pitches prevents the ball from passing the infield defense.
Ground ball rate, or ground ball percentage, is the percentage of batted balls that are hit as ground balls against a pitcher. A typical ground ball pitcher has a ground ball rate over 50% while an extreme ground ball pitcher maintains a ground ball rate of 55% or higher. Pitchers with high ground ball rates sustain lower BABIP, or Batting Average against Balls in Play (Hardball), on ground balls than those with low ground ball rates.
Ground ball pitchers rely on pitches that are likely to induce weak contact from the batter, thus resulting in a ground ball. Pitches that are low in the strike zone with high negative horizontal or vertical movement and high velocity, such as splitters, sinkers, curveballs, and two-seam fastballs, result in the highest percentage of ground balls. According to data from the 2012 major league season, splitters and sinker balls result in the highest percentages of ground balls compared to other pitches, with 50.3% and 49.8%, respectively.
The sinker ball has an ability to “dive” at the plate, often resulting in ground balls. Several ground ball pitchers such as Tim Hudson, Greg Maddux, Derek Lowe, Chien-Ming Wang, Brandon Webb, and Jake Westbrook rely heavily on their sinker pitches and may often be considered sinkerballers. Self-proclaimed ground ball pitcher Zach Day has indicated that his primary pitch is a sinker ball as well.
Tim Hudson notes that he transformed from a strikeout pitcher to a ground ball pitcher because of the capabilities of his sinker ball. He also notes that he feels double plays are easy to force with a ground ball.
As of 1998, 72% of balls put in play against Greg Maddux resulted in ground balls, who often relies on a sinker ball.
In June 2002, Lowe allowed eleven fly balls to 129 batters, relying on his sinker to induce ground balls.
According to a scouting report by Lewis Shaw, Brandon Webb’s sinker possesses heavy downward movement and high velocity, and one of his notable tendencies is to induce ground balls from right-handed hitters.
In a World Series game on October 21, 1996, against the New York Yankees, then-Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux pitched one fly ball and eighteen ground balls, earning nineteen of twenty-four outs on ground balls with Wade Boggs grounding into a double play. Yankees’ catcher Joe Girardi said of Maddux’s performance, “[H]e has a great sinker and he gets a lot of ground balls.” Braves center fielder Marquis Grissom noted, “He [Maddux] works fast. His games are not boring, by no means. That’s his style of pitching. He’s a ground ball pitcher.”
Baseball writer Murray Chass noted the similarities between this World Series game and a World Series game Maddux pitched against the Cleveland Indians a year prior, which resulted in a loss by the Indians, who scored two unearned runs. In this game, Maddux earned nineteen ground outs and pitched two fly balls.
In game three of the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox in 2007, Indians pitcher Jake Westbrook used his sinker ball to induce fifteen ground ball outs and also forced two 6-4-3 double plays.
However, the 2014/2015 Kansas City Royals (who play in the American League) are the most recent example of a team with a small ball orientation.
A team may incorporate a small-ball strategy for a variety of reasons, including:
Most commonly, managers will switch to small-ball tactics while a game is in progress, doing so upon the convergence of a variety of factors including having appropriate hitters coming up next in the batting order and, often, having fast runners already on base. A team could also start the game with the intention of playing small ball but then change from this strategy at some point during a game, depending on circumstances, such as when the opposing pitcher is struggling or has left the game or when the team is ahead or behind by several runs.
Small ball is a contrast to a style sometimes called the "big inning", where batters focus more on drawing walks or getting extra-base hits and home runs. This may produce many innings with little but strikeouts and flyouts, but occasionally innings with several runs. By playing small ball, the team trades the longer odds of a big inning for the increased chances of scoring a single run. Specifically, small ball often requires the trading of an out to advance a runner and therefore usually reduces the number of batting opportunities that a team will have in a given inning.
Small ball was once the standard by which the game was played during the "dead-ball era" at the beginning of the 20th century, when both batting averages and home-run totals dropped to historic lows. Teams relied on bunting and stolen bases to score runs. The advent of new, cork-centered baseballs in 1910, as well as the outlawing of specialty pitches such as the spitball, saw a jump in batting averages and home runs.
Small ball has become less common because of the general trend toward smaller parks and more home runs, especially in the American League where the designated hitter rule further increases offensive power. However, all big league managers are still skilled at managing from a small ball perspective, as it is sometimes necessary, especially in critical games. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén was widely credited for saying his 2005 World Series champion team played not small ball or big inning ball, but "smart ball", which has come to mean a more adaptable strategy.
The general idea of playing small ball is much more widely accepted and used in Japan; good hitters will frequently be asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt in an attempt to advance the runner if the lead off batter reached first or second base.
The San Francisco Giants were widely credited with winning the second game of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers on small ball. In a 2-0 victory, the Giants scored their first run on a ball that was grounded into a double play and later earned a run on a sacrifice fly.
Sometimes, the term may be used (also correctly, since it is an informal term) to refer to any of the parts of the broader strategy defined above. This may include a bunt single, the hit and run play, a sacrifice fly, the contact play, etc.
When aggregated, such individual efforts can amount to small-ball tactics even when not deliberately deployed by a team's manager. For example, if the lead-off batter reaches base, a series of individual moves can lead to run totals resembling those of the big-inning strategy but scored one at a time.
In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Because baseball practices permanent substitution, these pitchers frequently pitch to a very small number of batters in any given game (often only one), and rarely pitch to strictly right-handed batters. Most Major League Baseball (MLB) teams have several left-handed pitchers on their rosters, at least one of whom is a left-handed specialist. A left-handed specialist is sometimes called a "LOOGY" (or Lefty One-Out GuY), coined by John Sickels, and may be used pejoratively.
In the 1991 MLB season, there were 28 left-handed relievers who were not their team's closer and pitched 45 or more games. Only four averaged fewer than an inning per appearance. From 2001 to 2004, over 75 percent of left handed relievers meeting those criteria averaged less than one inning. Left-handed reliever John Candelaria was one of the early specialists in 1991, pitching 59 games and averaged .571 innings. In 1992, he allowed no earned runs—excluding inherited runners—in 43 of the 50 games. Jesse Orosco became a left-handed specialist later in his 24-season career and retired at the age of 46. From 1991 to 2003, he never averaged more than an inning pitched per appearance.
During the 2013 MLB season, there were seven relief pitchers who averaged less than two outs recorded per appearance, all of whom were left-handed. Joe Thatcher, a left-handed specialist, appeared in 72 games with 39.2 innings pitched, and had the fewest outs recorded per appearance with 1.6.
Starting with the 2020 season, all pitchers, whether starters or relievers, will be required to face at least three batters, or pitch to the end of the half-inning in which they enter the game. Exceptions will be allowed only for incapacitating injury or illness while pitching. According to "MLB.com" journalist Anthony Castrovince, "This will effectively end the so-called "LOOGY" (left-handed one-out guy) and other specialist roles in which pitchers are brought in for one very specific matchup."
The right-handed specialist (sometimes called a "ROOGY", for Righty One-Out GuY) is less common than the left-handed specialist, but are occasionally featured.
A bunt is a batting technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. Official Baseball Rules, define a bunt as follows: "A BUNT is a batted ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield." To bunt, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of home plate and intentionally taps the ball into play. A properly executed bunt will create weak contact with the ball and/or strategically direct it, forcing the infielders to make a difficult defensive play to record an out.
The strategy in bunting is to ground the ball into fair territory, as far from the fielders as possible but within the infield. This requires not only physical dexterity and concentration, but also an awareness of the fielders' positions in relation to the baserunner or baserunners, their likely reactions to the bunt, and knowledge of the pitcher's most likely pitches.
The bunt is typically executed by the batter turning his body toward the pitcher and sliding one hand up the barrel of the bat to help steady it. This is called squaring up. Depending on the situation, the batter might square up either before the pitcher winds up, or as the pitched ball approaches the plate. Sometimes, a batter may square up, then quickly retract the bat and take a full swing as the pitch is delivered.
In a sacrifice bunt, the batter will put the ball into play with the intention of advancing a baserunner, in exchange for the batter being thrown out. The sacrifice bunt is most often used to advance a runner from first to second base, though the runner may also be advanced from second to third base, or from third to home. The sacrifice bunt is most often used in close, low-scoring games, and it is usually performed by weaker hitters, especially against pitchers in games played in National League parks. A sacrifice bunt is not counted as an at-bat. In general, when sacrifice bunting, a batter will square to bunt well before the pitcher releases the ball.
The squeeze play occurs when the batter sacrifices with the purpose of scoring a runner from third base. In the suicide squeeze, in which the runner on third base starts running for home plate as soon as the pitcher starts to pitch the ball, it is integral that the batter bunt the ball successfully, or the runner will likely be tagged out easily. Due to the high-risk nature of this play, it is not often executed, but can often be an exciting moment within the game. Alternatively, in the lower-risk safety squeeze, the runner on third waits for the ball to be bunted before breaking for home. If a runner scores in a squeeze play, the batter may be credited with an RBI.
Often when attempting to bunt for a base hit, the batter will begin running as he is bunting the ball. This is called a drag bunt. Left-handed batters perform this more often than right-handed hitters, because their stance in the batter's box is closer to first base, and they do not need to run across home plate, where the ball will be pitched, as they bunt.
The action of squaring to bunt is compromised during a drag bunt, as the feet are not set. Players sometimes get one hand up the barrel, and other times bunt with both hands at the base of the bat. There have been instances of one-handed drag bunts as well; Rafael Furcal has been known to try such a bunt.
A swinging bunt occurs when a poorly hit ball rolls a short distance into play, much like a bunt. A swinging bunt is often the result of a checked swing, and only has the appearance of a bunt. It is not a true bunt, and if the scorer judges that the batter intended to hit the ball, it cannot be counted as a sacrifice. There is also a "slug" bunt that is intended to surprise the opposing defense, as the desired effect is a hard-hit ball into the infield defense that is expecting a standard bunt.
A foul bunt that is not caught in flight is always counted as a strike, even if it is a third strike and thus results in a strikeout of the batter. This is distinct from all other foul balls which, if not caught in flight, are only counted as a strike if "not" a third strike. This special exception applies only to true bunts, not on any bunt-like contacts that might occur during a full swing or check-swing. If a batter bunts the ball and his bat hits the ball again after initial contact, it is a dead ball even if by accident.
Additionally, the infield fly rule is not applied to bunts popped-up in the air. Instead, the intentional drop rule (Rule 6.05l) that also applies to line drives can be invoked.
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. Before the 1990s, pitchers in similar roles were referred to as a fireman, short reliever, and stopper. A small number of closers have won the Cy Young Award. Eight closers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm.
A closer is generally a team's best reliever and designated to pitch the last few outs of games when his team is leading by a margin of three runs or fewer. Rarely does a closer enter with his team losing or in a tie game. A closer's effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the save, an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1969. Over time, closers have become one-inning specialists typically brought in at the beginning of the ninth inning in save situations. The pressure of the last three outs of the game is often cited for the importance attributed to the ninth inning.
Closers are often the highest paid relievers on their teams, making money on par with starting pitchers. In the rare cases where a team does not have one primary pitcher dedicated to this role, the team is said to have a "closer by committee".
Eight pitchers who were primarily relievers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first to be elected in 1985, followed by Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, and Mariano Rivera. Eckersley was the first closer in the one-inning save era to be inducted. He believed that he was inducted because he was both a starter and a reliever. "If I came up today as a closer and played 20 years, would I have made it [into the Hall of Fame]? These pitchers did the job they were supposed to do for 20 years. What else are they supposed to do?" said Eckersley.
In baseball, middle relief pitchers (or "middle relievers") are relief pitchers who commonly pitch in the fifth, sixth, or seventh innings. In the National League, a middle reliever often comes in after the starting pitcher has been pulled for a pinch hitter. A middle reliever is usually replaced in the eighth or ninth innings by a left-handed specialist, setup pitcher or closers; middle relief pitchers may work these innings as well, especially if the game is not close.
A platoon system in basketball, baseball, or football is a method for substituting players in groups (platoons), to keep complementary players together during playing time.
In baseball, a platoon is a method of sharing playing time, where two players are selected to play a single defensive position. Usually, one platoon player is right-handed and the other is left-handed. Typically the right-handed half of the platoon is played on days when the opposing starting pitcher is left-handed and the left-handed player is played otherwise. The theory behind this is that generally players hit better against their opposite-handed counterparts, and that in some cases the difference is extreme enough to warrant complementing the player with one of opposite handedness.
Platooning can be viewed negatively. Players prefer to play every day, and managers, including Walter Alston, feared that sharing playing time could decrease confidence. Mookie Wilson of the New York Mets requested a trade in 1988 after serving in a platoon for three seasons with Lenny Dykstra.
Terms for this strategy included "double-batting shift, "switch-around players", and "reversible outfield". Tris Speaker referred to his strategy as the "triple shift", because he employed it at three positions. The term "platoon" was coined in the late 1940s. Stengel, now managing the New York Yankees, became a well known proponent of the platoon system, and won five consecutive World Series championships from 1949 through 1953 using the strategy. Stengel platooned Bobby Brown, Billy Johnson, and Gil McDougald at third base, Joe Collins and Moose Skowron at first base, and Hank Bauer and Gene Woodling in left field. Harold Rosenthal, writing for the "New York Herald", referred to Stengel's strategy as a "platoon", after the American football concept, and it came to be known as "two-platooning".
Following Stengel's success, other teams began implementing their own platoons. In the late 1970s through early 1980s, Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver successfully employed a platoon in left field, using John Lowenstein, Benny Ayala, and Gary Roenicke, using whichever player was performing the best at the time. Weaver also considered other factors, including the opposing pitcher's velocity, and his batters' ability in hitting a fastball. The Orioles continued to platoon at catcher and all three outfield positions in 1983 under Joe Altobelli, as the Orioles won the 1983 World Series, leading other teams to pursue the strategy.
Platooning decreased in frequency from the late 1980s through the 1990s, as teams expanded their bullpens to nullify platoon advantages for hitters. However, the use of platoons has increased in recent years. As teams increase their analysis of data, they attempt to put batters and pitchers in situations where they are more likely to succeed. Generally, small market teams, which cannot afford to sign the league's best players to market-value contracts, are most likely to employ platoons. Under manager Bob Melvin, the Athletics have employed many platoons, with Josh Reddick calling Melvin the "king of platoons". Joe Maddon began to employ platoons as manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox platooned Jonny Gomes and Daniel Nava in left field. After the 2013 season, left-handed relief pitchers Boone Logan and Javier López, both considered left-handed specialists because of their ability to limit the effectiveness of left-handed batters, signed multimillion-dollar contracts as free agents.
When a football team uses two (or more) quarterbacks to run their offense, rather than the traditional one in football, it is known as "platooning quarterbacks". This tactic becomes less common the higher the level of football (high school teams are more likely to do it than National Football League teams for example). Quarterbacks may be switched in and out of the game every play, every drive, every quarter, or depending on certain situations. If quarterbacks are switched game to game that is not platooning, that is a "quarterback controversy" or a simple benching.
Using two different quarterbacks allows an offense to use players with different skill sets. One common reason teams platoon quarterbacks is because one player is a good passer and the other a good runner (see for example Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine of the 1997 Ohio State Buckeyes). Thus defenses have to prepare for two types of quarterback, not just one. It also allows offenses to run a greater variety of plays.
In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth.
As closers were reduced to one-inning specialists, setup men became more prominent. Setup pitchers often come into the game with the team losing or the game tied. They are usually the second best relief pitcher on a team, behind the closer. After closers became one-inning pitchers, primarily in the ninth inning, setup pitchers became more highly valued. A pitcher who succeeds in this role is often promoted to a closer. Setup men are paid less than closers and mostly make less than the average Major League salary.
The most common statistic used to evaluate relievers is the save. Due to the definition of the statistic, setup men are rarely in position to record a save even if they pitch well, but they can be charged with a blown save if they pitch poorly. The hold statistic was developed to help acknowledge a setup man's effectiveness, but it is not an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic.
Historically, setup men were rarely selected to MLB All-Star Games, with the nod usually going to closers with large save totals. From 1971 through 2000, only six relievers with fewer than five saves at midseason were selected as All-Stars. There were 10 such players from 2001 through 2009. In 2015, the majority of the American League's All-Star relievers were not closers, outnumbered 4–3. Setup men who have been named All-Stars multiple times include Justin Duchscherer, Tyler Clippard, Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller.
Francisco Rodriguez, who was a setup pitcher for the Anaheim Angels in 2002, tied starting pitcher Randy Johnson's Major League Baseball record for wins in a single postseason after recording his fifth victory in the 2002 World Series.
Tim McCarver wrote that the New York Yankees in 1996 "revolutionized baseball" with Mariano Rivera, "a middle reliever who should have been on the All-Star team and who was a legitimate MVP candidate." He finished third in the voting for the American League (AL) Cy Young Award, the highest a setup man has finished. That season, Rivera primarily served as a setup pitcher for closer John Wetteland, typically pitching in the seventh and eighth inning of games before Wetteland pitched in the ninth. Their effectiveness gave the Yankees a 70–3 win–loss record that season when leading after six innings. McCarver said the Yankees played "six-inning games" that year, with Rivera dominating for two innings and Wetteland closing out the victory.
Illustrating the general trend, both Rivera and Rodriguez were moved to closer soon after excelling as setup men. On January 22, 2019, Rivera became the first unanimously elected baseball hall-of-famer having been inducted his first eligible year on the ballot.
In baseball, an opening pitcher, more frequently referred to as an opener, is a pitcher who specializes in getting the first outs in a game, before being replaced by a long reliever or a pitcher who would typically be a starting pitcher. Pitchers employed in the role of opener have usually been relief pitchers by trade. The strategy was frequently employed in Major League Baseball (MLB) by the Tampa Bay Rays during the 2018 season, when it was adopted by other teams as well.
By the 1980s, MLB teams had adopted starting rotations consisting of five starting pitchers, with all other pitchers on the active roster serving as relief pitchers. Traditionally, a starter was expected to throw the most innings of any pitcher in a game. Starters typically pitched until they got into trouble or reached a pitch count threshold.
When Farhan Zaidi became general manager of the San Francisco Giants after the 2018 season, he spoke about using an opener to protect Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez from being overworked.
The Tampa Bay Rays continued to use an opener in many of their games, with Ryne Stanek often filling the role. The New York Yankees coped with having three of their starting pitchers on the injured list by using reliever Chad Green as an opener. Green would pitch the first inning or two and then hand over the game to a long reliever. During the 2019 regular season, Green opened 15 games for the Yankees; the Yankees won 11 of the games that he started. The Los Angeles Angels pitched a no-hitter using an opener, with Taylor Cole working the first two innings and Félix Peña the last seven in their 13–0 no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners on July 12.
One advantage of the strategy 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. If the opener is successful, the job of the next pitcher is easier since they will start with less-dangerous hitters. The strategy also throws off the timing of the top-of-the-order hitters, who are not used to seeing different pitchers each time they come to bat, and allows the usual starting pitcher to face the top of the lineup two times rather than three.
From a financial perspective, the strategy allows teams to make more use of relief pitchers who are still under low-paying contracts, potentially reducing the salaries paid to starting pitchers because the latter are used less.
In baseball, a catch occurs when a fielder gains secure possession of a batted ball in flight, and maintains possession until he voluntarily or intentionally releases the ball. When a catch occurs, the batter is out, and runners, once they properly tag up (retouch their time-of-pitch base), may attempt to advance at risk of being tagged out.
Unlike in American football and other sports, neither secure possession for a time nor for a number of steps is enough to demonstrate that a catch has occurred. A fielder may, for example, appear to catch and hold a batted ball securely, take a few more steps, collide with a wall or another player, and drop the ball. This is not a catch.
Umpires signal a catch with the out signal: a fist raised into the air, often with a hammering motion; if there is doubt about it, the umpire will likely shout "That's a catch!" On a close no-catch, the umpire will signal with the safe signal, which is both arms swept to the side and extended, accompanied by the call ""No" catch, "no" catch!" with an emphasis on the word "no".
The fielder must catch the ball with his hand or glove. If the fielder uses his cap, protector, pocket or any other part of his uniform in getting possession, it is not a catch. Therefore, a foul ball which directly becomes lodged in the equipment of the catcher (other than his or her glove) is not considered a catch and hence not a foul tip.
It is not a catch if the batted ball hits a fielder, then hits a member of the offensive team or an umpire, and then is caught by another defensive player.
A catch is legal if the ball is finally held by any fielder before it touches the ground. Runners may leave their bases the instant the first fielder touches the ball. A fielder may reach over a fence, a railing, a rope, or a line of demarcation to make a catch. He may jump on top of a railing or a canvas that may be in foul ground. Interference should not be called in cases where a spectator comes into contact with a fielder and a catch is not made if the fielder reaches over a fence, a railing, a rope. The fielder does so at his or her own risk.
If a fielder, attempting a catch at the edge of the dugout, is "held up" and kept from an apparent fall by a player or players of either team and the catch is made, it shall be allowed.
To avoid ambiguity with the common term "catch" meaning any action that gains possession of a ball, some may say that a fielder gloved a thrown ball or a batted, bouncing ball.
In Major League history, the term knuckle curve or knuckle curveball has been used to describe three entirely different pitches.
The third type of knuckle curve was thrown by Dave Stenhouse in the 1960s. Stenhouse's knuckle curve was thrown like a fastball but with a knuckleball grip. Stenhouse discovered that this pitch had excellent movement, and when he came to the majors, he utilized it as a breaking pitch. This pitch may have been the same as the knuckleball thrown by Jesse Haines and Freddie Fitzsimmons. The pitch would be perfected by Chicago White Sox legend Hoyt Wilhelm during the later stages of his career, after flirting with it for most of his time in the majors.
In baseball, a force is a situation when a baserunner is compelled (or "forced") to vacate his time-of-pitch base—and thus try to advance to the next base—because the batter became a runner. A runner at first base is always forced to attempt to advance to second base when the batter becomes a runner. Runners at second or third base are forced only when all bases preceding their time-of-pitch base are occupied by other baserunners and the batter becomes a runner.

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