COUNTING STATS (PITCHERS + FIELDERS)

      Win
      Loss
      Strikeout (pitcher)
      Complete Game
      Shutout
      Save
      Innings Pitched
      Games Pitched
      Games Started
      Home Runs Allowed
      Walks Allowed
      Hits Allowed
      Hit Batsmen
      Wild Pitch
      Earned Runs Allowed



      In every game, a pitcher on the winning team is credited with a win.
      For a starting pitcher to qualify for the win, he must pitch at least five innings. He must either complete the game, or leave with the lead. If he leaves the game, the bullpen cannot give up the lead.
      If a reliever is in the game when his team takes the lead, he becomes the pitcher of record. He is credited with the win if his team does not relinquish that lead.
      If the starter leaves the game with the lead, but does not pitch five innings, then a reliever is credited with the win. The Official Scorer selects the pitcher of record, giving the win to whichever reliever pitches most effectively.


      Cy Young is the only pitcher with more than 500 career wins. Young and Walter Johnson are the only pitchers with more than 400.

      Every pitcher with 300 or more wins is in the Hall Of Fame. In today's game, 300 wins is the most significant career milestone.

      No pitcher since Ed Walsh in 1908 has won 40 games in a season. Denny McLain in 1968 is the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season. In today's game, 20 wins in a season is a significant milestone.



      Cy Young, 511
      (since 1930) Warren Spahn, 363


      (1871-1901) Charley Radbourn 1884, 59
      (1902-1960) Jack Chesbro 1904, 41
      (1961-2007) Denny McLain 1968, 31



      Just like every game has a winner, every game has a loser.

      When a pitcher gives up the runs that allow the opposition to take the lead, and they never give up that lead, he is charged with the loss.


      Mike Maroth lost 20 games in 2003, the first pitcher to lose that many since Brian Kingman in 1980.



      Cy Young, 316


      (1871-1901) John Coleman 1883, 48
      (1902-1960) Vic Willis 1905, 29
      (1961-2007) Roger Craig 1962 and Jack Fisher 1965, 24

      Vic Willis, who lost 29 games in 1905, is in the Hall Of Fame. So are Amos Rusie, Red Ruffing, Robin Roberts, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Phil Niekro, all of whom led the majors in losses. Niekro and Ruffing did it twice.
      In 1988, the league leaders in losses were Bert Blyleven and Tom Glavine, both possible future members of the Hall.



      The ultimate victory for a pitcher. Three strikes, and the batter is out. No need to get the defense involved.


      For more than 50 years, Walter Johnson's career record of 3509 strikeouts was a significant milestone. Johnson retired in 1927; his record was broken by both Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan in 1983.

      In 1986, Roger Clemens became the first pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game. The feat has since been duplicated by Randy Johnson, Kerry Wood, and again by Clemens.



      Nolan Ryan, 5714
      (before 1960) Walter Johnson, 3509


      (1871-1901) Matt Kilroy 1886, 513
      (1902-1960) Rube Waddell 1904, 349
      (1961-2007) Nolan Ryan 1973, 383

      Matt Kilroy threw 583 innings the year he set his record.

      Waddell's "modern" record was broken in 1965 by Sandy Koufax, who struck out 382 batters. Ryan beat the record by one K in 1973.

      Ryan is the only pitcher with more than 5000 career strikeouts. Steve Carlton and Roger Clemens are the only others with more than 4000.



      A starting pitcher finishes the game that he starts. Usually, this means pitching nine innings.
      However, if the game is tied after nine innings, starting pitchers will sometimes throw more innings.

      A pitcher is also credited with a complete game if he is pitching when a game is shortened for some reason, usually rain.


      Complete Game totals dropped dramatically in the mid 1890's, held steady for several decades, then began to drop again in the 1970's.

      The last pitcher to throw 40 complete games in a season was Ed Walsh in 1908. The last pitcher to throw 30 complete games in a season was Catfish Hunter in 1975. The last pitcher to throw 20 complete games in a season was Fernando Valenzuela in 1986.

      2000 was the first year in baseball history that no pitcher had at least 10 complete games in a season. The same was true for 2001, 2002 and 2003 as well.



      Cy Young, 749


      (1871-1901) Will White 1879, 75
      (1902-1945) Jack Chesbro 1904, 48
      (1946-1974) Bob Feller 1946, 36
      (1975-2007) Catfish Hunter 1975, 30

      Cy Young's record of 749 complete games is arguably the most unbreakable career record in baseball history. Only two pitchers, Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton, have more career starts than Young has complete games.



      A starting pitcher throws a complete game, and doesn't give up any runs.
      If he doesn't give up any hits, then he is credited with a no-hitter.
      If he doesn't give up any baserunners, then he has thrown a perfect game.


      Walter Johnson is the only pitcher with more than 100 career shutouts.

      John Tudor, in 1985, was the last pitcher to throw 10 shutouts in a season.



      Walter Johnson, 110


      (1871-1901) George Bradley 1876, 16
      (1901-1960) Pete Alexander 1916, 16
      (1961-2007) Bob Gibson 1968, 13



      A relief pitcher finishes a game in which his team wins. He is credited with a save if he meets the following conditions:
      1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and
      2) He is not the winning pitcher; and
      3) He qualifies under one of the following conditions:
            a) He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches for at least one inning; or
            b) He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batsmen he faces); or
            c) He pitches effectively for at least three innings.
      No more than one save may be credited in each game.


      The Save was invented by Jerome Holtzman in the 1960's. It was first published regularly in The Sporting News, and was made an official statistic in 1969.


      Lee Smith and John Franco are the only pitchers with 400 career saves.

      Eric Gagne in 2003 set records for consecutive saves in one season, with 55; he also set the record over multiple seasons, which ended at 84 in 2004.



      Lee Smith, 478


      Bobby Thigpen 1990, 57

      The first pitcher to save 20 games in a season was Firpo Marberry in 1926. The first to save 30 was Ted Abernathy in 1965. The first to save 40 was Dan Quisenberry in 1983. The first to save 50 was Bobby Thigpen in 1990.
      Of course, when Marberry set his "record" in 1926, no one knew it at the time.



      Every time a pitcher records an out, he is credited with having pitched a third of an inning. He is credited with an inning pitched for every three outs recorded.


      Cy Young is the only pitcher to throw more than 7000 innings (he and Pud Galvin are the only ones with over 6000).

      The last pitcher to throw 400 innings in a season was Ed Walsh in 1908. The last to throw 300 was Steve Carlton in 1980.

      In 1988, Orel Hershiser threw a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings.

      Mike Marshall is the only pitcher to throw 200 innings in relief in a season, in 1974.



      Cy Young, 7354 1/3
      (since 1920) Phil Niekro, 5404 1/3


      (1871-1893) Will White 1879, 680
      (1894-1920) Ed Walsh 1908, 464
      (1921-1960) Bob Feller 1946, 371 1/3
      (1961-2007) Mickey Lolich 1976, 376

      Of Phil Niekro's 5404 1/3 career innings pitched, 4800 of them came after he turned 30.



      When a pitcher makes an appearance in a game, he is credited with one Game Pitched.


      Mike Marshall is the only pitcher to appear in more than 100 games in a season, with 106 in 1974.



      Jesse Orosco, 1252


      Mike Marshall 1974, 106



      A pitcher throws the first pitch in the game for his team.


      Cy Young is the only pitcher to start more than 800 games in his career.



      Cy Young, 815
      (since 1920) Nolan Ryan, 773


      (1871-1893) Will White 1879 and Pud Galvin 1883, 75
      (1894-1920) Jack Chesbro, 51
      (1921-1960) George Uhle 1923, 44
      (1961-2007) Wilbur Wood 1972, 49



      Usually a hanging curveball or a flat slider, left out over the plate, then crunched for a home run. Some pitchers just give up more taters than others.


      Bert Blyleven is the only pitcher to give up 50 homers in a season.



      Robin Roberts, 505


      (1871-1919) Larry Corcoran 1884, 35
      (1920-1960) Robin Roberts 1956, 46
      (1961-2007) Bert Blyleven 1986, 50

      Blyleven gave up 50 homers in 1986, then 46 in 1987. He never gave up more than 23 in any other season.



      A pitcher throws four balls to the batter, giving him a free pass to first base.


      Nolan Ryan is the only pitcher to walk over 2000 batters, and he is far ahead of the pack.



      Nolan Ryan, 2795


      (1871-1900) Amos Rusie 1890, 289
      (1901-1960) Bob Feller 1938, 208
      (1961-2007) Nolan Ryan 1977, 204



      Pitcher throws the ball, batter gets a hit.



      Cy Young, 7092


      (1871-1920) John Coleman 1883, 772
      (1921-1960) George Uhle 1923, 378
      (1961-2007) Mickey Lolich 1971, 336



      A pitcher throws a pitch that makes contact with the batter's person. Batter takes first base, if he is able to.

      Theoretically, the batter has to make an attempt to get out of the way. But that is a rule that is almost never enforced.

      Batters are sometimes hit on purpose, if the pitcher happens to be pissed off about something. Or sometimes, the manager is pissed off, and orders the pitcher to hit somebody. Or sometimes, a player is hit by a pitch, and his pitcher feels he has to "protect" his teammates by plunking one of the opposing hitters. As they say, "it's a part of the game".
      In 1942, manager Casey Stengel ordered Warren Spahn to hit Pee Wee Reese. Spahn refused, saying he had no reason to. Spahn, a 21-year-old rookie, was sent back to the minors.


      Pitchers are remembered less for the number of batters they hit, and more for the damage they cause. That's how it goes.
      Famous hit batsmen include Ray Chapman in 1920, Mickey Cochrane in 1937, Tony Conigliaro in 1967, Paul Blair in 1970, Dickie Thon in 1984 and Kirby Puckett in 1995.



      Walter Johnson, 203


      (1884-1920) Joe McGinnity 1900, 41
      (1921-1960) Howard Ehmke 1922, 23
      (1961-2007) Tom Murphy 1969 and Kerry Wood 2003, 21



      A pitcher throws a ball that the catcher is unable to catch, allowing a runner to take a base. Usually, the pitch is thrown in the dirt or high and wide.

      If the official scorer decides that the catcher should have caught the ball, then the catcher is charged with a passed ball, and there is no wild pitch. Often, the difference between the two is hard to figure out.

      A wild pitch can only occur with a runner on base, and only if that runner takes an extra base.



      Nolan Ryan, 277


      (1871-1893) Bill Stemmeyer 1886, 63
      (1894-1920) Red Ames 1905, 30
      (1921-1970) Tony Cloninger 1966, 27
      (1971-2007) Juan Guzman 1993, 26

      Mickey Welch retired in 1892 with 274 career wild pitches, a record that lasted 101 years until it was broken by Ryan in 1993.



      When a batter reaches base, then comes around to score.

      Does not include Unearned Runs, runs which would not have scored without benefit from an error in the field.

      Runs are charged to the pitcher who allowed the runner to reach base. If a reliever comes into the game with runners on base, and allows them to score, he is not charged with those runs.



      Cy Young, 2147


      (1871-1920) John Coleman 1883, 291
      (1921-1960) Bobo Newsom 1938, 186
      (1961-2007) Phil Niekro 1977, 148