Changes: Relief pitcher

Latest revision as of 08:59, 16 August 2008

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher comes in and plays the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of injury, ineffectiveness and/or fatigue. Relievers are also divided informally into closers, middle relief pitchers, left-handed specialists and set-up pitchers.

Fastballs and some other pitch(s) such as a slider, screwball, changeup or any other breaking ball pitch are usually what relievers throw. Usually since relievers have a limited pitch selection, batters tend to adjust quickly, which effects relievers in repeat at-bats. They often only pitch one or two innings because of this, but sometimes relievers pitch longer than a few innings, and sometimes until the end of the game, especially for closers.

Generally a long time ago, relievers were former starting pitchers who no longer had the energy or endurance to pitch for several or many innings. Relief pitching became a specialized position starting from the 1930s and 1960s,.

Some of the best known reliever pitches include Keith Foulke, Eric Gagné, and Mariano Rivera. Four relievers are currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame – Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, and Bruce Sutter.

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-A '''relief pitcher''' or '''reliever''' is a [[baseball]] or [[softball]] [[pitcher]] comes in and plays the game after the [[starting pitcher]] is removed because of injury, ineffectiveness and/or fatigue. Relievers are also divided informally into [[closer (baseball)|closers]], [[middle relief pitcher]]s, [[left-handed specialist]]s and [[set-up pitcher]]s.
+A '''relief pitcher''' or '''reliever''' is a [[baseball]] or [[softball]] [[pitcher]] comes in and plays the game after the [[starting pitcher]] is removed because of injury, ineffectiveness and/or fatigue. Relievers are also divided informally into [[closer]]s, [[middle relief pitcher]]s, [[left-handed specialist]]s and [[set-up pitcher]]s.
-A relief pitcher generally has two good pitches &ndash; a [[fastball]] and some other pitch such as a [[slider]], [[screwball]], or [[changeup]].  Because of their limited pitch selection, batters tend to adjust quickly, which limits relievers' effectiveness in repeat at-bats.  Therefore, they often only pitch one or two innings.
+[[Fastball]]s and some other pitch(s) such as a [[slider]], [[screwball]], [[changeup]] or any other breaking ball pitch are usually what relievers throw.  Usually since relievers have a limited pitch selection, batters tend to adjust quickly, which effects relievers in repeat [[at-bat]]s. They often only pitch one or two innings because of this, but sometimes relievers pitch longer than a few innings, and sometimes until the end of the game, especially for closers.
-In the early years of the sport, relief pitchers were generally former starting pitchers who no longer had the endurance to pitch for several innings.  But gradually over the period between the 1930s and 1960s, relief pitching became a specialized position.
+Generally a long time ago, relievers were former starting pitchers who no longer had the energy or endurance to pitch for several or many innings.  Relief pitching became a specialized position starting from the 1930s and 1960s,.
-Some of today's best known relief pitchers are [[Keith Foulke]], [[Eric Gagné]], and [[Mariano Rivera]]. Four relievers are currently in the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] &ndash; [[Hoyt Wilhelm]], [[Rollie Fingers]], [[Dennis Eckersley]], and [[Bruce Sutter]].
+Some of the best known reliever pitches include [[Keith Foulke]], [[Eric Gagné]], and [[Mariano Rivera]]. Four relievers are currently in the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] &ndash; [[Hoyt Wilhelm]], [[Rollie Fingers]], [[Dennis Eckersley]], and [[Bruce Sutter]].
 ==See also==