In Major League Baseball, the winning pitcher is defined as the pitcher who last pitched prior to the half-inning when the winning team took the lead for the last time. [1] There are two exceptions to this rule. The first is that a starting pitcher must complete five innings to earn a win (four innings for a game that lasts five innings on defense). If he fails to do so, he is ineligible to be the winning pitcher even if he last pitched prior to the half-inning when his team took the lead for the last time, and the official scorer awards the win to the relief pitcher who, in the official scorer's judgment, was the most effective. The second exception applies if the relief pitcher who last pitched prior to the half-inning when the winning team took the lead for the last time was "ineffective in a brief appearance" in the official scorer's judgment, in which case the win is awarded to the succeeding relief pitcher who, in the official scorer's judgment, was the most effective. [2]
Charles Radbourn [3] holds the record for the most wins in a single-season, winning 59 games in 1884. [4] John Clarkson [5] (53 in 1885) and Guy Hecker [6] (52 in 1884) are the only other pitchers to win more than 50 games in a single-season. [7]
Rank | Rank amongst leaders in single-season wins. A blank field indicates a tie. |
Player | Name of player. |
W | Total single-season wins. |
Year | Season wins were recorded. |
* | Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. |
---|
Rank | Player | W | Year |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Old Hoss Radbourn * | 59 | 1884 |
2 | John Clarkson * | 53 | 1885 |
3 | Guy Hecker | 52 | 1884 |
4 | John Clarkson * | 49 | 1889 |
5 | Charlie Buffinton | 48 | 1884 |
Old Hoss Radbourn * | 48 | 1883 | |
7 | Albert Spalding * | 47 | 1876 |
John Montgomery Ward * | 47 | 1879 | |
9 | Pud Galvin * | 46 | 1883 |
Pud Galvin * | 46 | 1884 | |
Matt Kilroy | 46 | 1887 | |
12 | George Bradley | 45 | 1876 |
Silver King | 45 | 1888 | |
Jim McCormick | 45 | 1880 | |
15 | Bill Hutchison | 44 | 1891 |
Mickey Welch * | 44 | 1885 | |
17 | Tommy Bond | 43 | 1879 |
Larry Corcoran | 43 | 1880 | |
Billy Taylor | 43 | 1884 | |
Will White | 43 | 1879 | |
Will White | 43 | 1883 | |
22 | Lady Baldwin | 42 | 1886 |
Tim Keefe * | 42 | 1886 | |
24 | Jack Chesbro * | 41 | 1904 |
Dave Foutz | 41 | 1886 | |
Bill Hutchison | 41 | 1890 | |
Tim Keefe * | 41 | 1883 | |
Ed Morris | 41 | 1886 | |
Charlie Sweeney | 41 | 1884 | |
30 | Tommy Bond | 40 | 1877 |
Tommy Bond | 40 | 1878 | |
Bob Caruthers | 40 | 1885 | |
Bob Caruthers | 40 | 1889 | |
Jim McCormick | 40 | 1884 | |
Bill Sweeney | 40 | 1884 | |
Ed Walsh * | 40 | 1908 |
Rank | Player | W | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Will White | 40 | 1882 | |
38 | Ed Morris | 39 | 1885 |
John Montgomery Ward * | 39 | 1880 | |
Mickey Welch * | 39 | 1884 | |
41 | John Clarkson * | 38 | 1887 |
Kid Gleason | 38 | 1890 | |
Toad Ramsey | 38 | 1886 | |
44 | Pud Galvin * | 37 | 1879 |
Tim Keefe * | 37 | 1884 | |
Jack Lynch | 37 | 1884 | |
Christy Mathewson * | 37 | 1908 | |
Toad Ramsey | 37 | 1887 | |
Jim Whitney | 37 | 1883 | |
50 | John Clarkson | 36 | 1886 |
Bill Hutchison | 36 | 1892 | |
Walter Johnson * | 36 | 1913 | |
Frank Killen | 36 | 1893 | |
Jim McCormick | 36 | 1882 | |
Sadie McMahon | 36 | 1890 | |
Tony Mullane | 36 | 1884 | |
Amos Rusie * | 36 | 1894 | |
Cy Young * | 36 | 1892 | |
59 | Larry Corcoran | 35 | 1884 |
Jim Devlin | 35 | 1877 | |
Tim Keefe | 35 | 1887 | |
Tim Keefe | 35 | 1888 | |
Silver King | 35 | 1889 | |
Joe McGinnity * | 35 | 1904 | |
Sadie McMahon | 35 | 1891 | |
Tony Mullane | 35 | 1883 | |
Kid Nichols * | 35 | 1892 | |
Ed Seward | 35 | 1888 | |
Jack Stivetts | 35 | 1892 | |
Cy Young * | 35 | 1895 | |
71 | Larry Corcoran | 34 | 1883 |
George Haddock | 34 | 1891 |
Rank | Player | W | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Ed Morris | 34 | 1884 | |
Kid Nichols * | 34 | 1893 | |
Mike Smith | 34 | 1887 | |
Scott Stratton | 34 | 1890 | |
Mickey Welch * | 34 | 1880 | |
Will White | 34 | 1884 | |
Smoky Joe Wood | 34 | 1912 | |
Cy Young * | 34 | 1893 | |
81 | Grover Cleveland Alexander * | 33 | 1916 |
Mark Baldwin | 33 | 1890 | |
John Clarkson * | 33 | 1888 | |
John Clarkson * | 33 | 1891 | |
Dave Foutz | 33 | 1885 | |
Walter Johnson * | 33 | 1912 | |
Christy Mathewson * | 33 | 1904 | |
Jouett Meekin | 33 | 1894 | |
Tony Mullane | 33 | 1886 | |
Henry Porter | 33 | 1885 | |
Old Hoss Radbourn * | 33 | 1882 | |
Amos Rusie * | 33 | 1891 | |
Amos Rusie * | 33 | 1893 | |
Jack Stivetts | 33 | 1891 | |
Mickey Welch * | 33 | 1886 | |
Cy Young * | 33 | 1901 | |
97 | Ice Box Chamberlain | 32 | 1889 |
Jesse Duryea | 32 | 1889 | |
Bob Emslie | 32 | 1884 | |
Tim Keefe * | 32 | 1885 | |
Silver King | 32 | 1887 | |
Kid Nichols * | 32 | 1894 | |
Lee Richmond | 32 | 1880 | |
Amos Rusie * | 32 | 1892 | |
Gus Weyhing | 32 | 1892 | |
Cy Young * | 32 | 1902 |
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitchers who throw an entire official game that is shortened by rain will still be credited with a complete game, while starting pitchers who are relieved in extra innings after throwing nine or more innings will not be credited with a complete game. A starting pitcher who is replaced by a pinch hitter in the final half inning of a game will still be credited with a complete game.
In baseball and softball, a win–loss record is a statistic that indicates the number of wins and losses credited to a pitcher. For example, a 20–10 win–loss record would represent 20 wins and 10 losses.
In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain circumstances. A save can be earned by entering a game in which his team is leading by three or fewer runs and finishing the game by pitching at least one inning without losing the lead; entering the game with the tying run in the on-deck circle, at the plate or on the bases and finishing the game; or by pitching at least three innings in relief and finishing the game regardless of how many runs your team was winning by when entering the game. The number of saves or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted are oft-cited statistics of relief pitchers, particularly those in the closer role. The save statistic was created by journalist Jerome Holtzman in 1959 to "measure the effectiveness of relief pitchers" and was adopted as an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic in 1969. The save has been retroactively tabulated for pitchers before that date. Mariano Rivera is MLB's all-time leader in regular-season saves with 652, while Francisco Rodríguez earned the most saves in a single season with 62 in 2008.
Charles Gardner Radbourn, nicknamed "Old Hoss", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for Buffalo (1880), Providence (1881–1885), Boston (1886–1889), Boston (1890), and Cincinnati (1891).
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection, high pitch count, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather delays or pinch hitter substitutions. Relief pitchers are further divided informally into various roles, such as closers, setup men, middle relief pitchers, left/right-handed specialists, and long relievers. Whereas starting pitchers usually throw so many pitches in a single game that they must rest several days before pitching in another, relief pitchers are expected to be more flexible and typically pitch in more games with a shorter time period between pitching appearances but with fewer innings pitched per appearance. A team's staff of relievers is normally referred to metonymically as a team's bullpen, which refers to the area where the relievers sit during games, and where they warm-up prior to entering the game.
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The following are the baseball events of the year 1886 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1885 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1884 throughout the world.
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