Chris Young warms up in the bullpen before a game at Wrigley Field. In Baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief Pitchers warm-up before entering a game Wrigley Field is a Baseball Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher, often abbreviated as starter, is the pitcher who pitches the first pitch to the first batter of a game. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Softball is a team Sport popular especially in the United States. In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher. A relief pitcher or reliever is a Baseball or Softball Pitcher who enters the game after the Starting pitcher is removed due to injury

A manager of a baseball team would like the starting pitcher to pitch as many innings as possible in a game. Most regular starting pitchers pitch for at least five innings on a regular basis, and if they are unable to do so, there is a high probability they will be moved to the bullpen. In Baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief Pitchers warm-up before entering a game In modern baseball, starting pitchers are rarely expected to pitch for more than 7 or 8 innings, when games are passed to set-up pitchers and closers. In Baseball, a setup pitcher (or set-up pitcher, sometimes called the setup man) is a Relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer In Baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL) is a Relief pitcher who specializes in closing out Often, starting pitchers are on a pitch count, meaning the manager will seek to remove them from the game once they have thrown a specific number of pitches. In Baseball statistics, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a Pitcher in a game The most common pitch count for modern pitchers is 100. Pitch counts are especially common for starting pitchers who are recovering from injury. Injury or bodily injury is Damage or Harm caused to the Structure or function of the Body caused by an outside agent or In the early decades of baseball, it was not uncommon for a starting pitcher to accumulate an incredible number of innings—often 300 or more. In addition, there are accounts of starting pitchers pitching on consecutive days, or even in both games of a doubleheader. Doubleheader is the term used to describe two Baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day It is speculated that these feats were possible because pitchers in the early years of the 20th century, unlike modern starters, rarely threw the ball with maximum effort.

A starting pitcher must complete five innings of work in order to qualify for a win in a game he starts. Under NCAA baseball rules, a starting pitcher that pitches less than five innings can still earn a win if they pitch for a certain amount of time that is determined before the start of the game. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations It is possible to be credited with a loss despite pitching fewer than five innings. A starter who works six or more innings while giving up three or fewer runs is said to have achieved a quality start. In Baseball statistics, a quality start is awarded to a Starting pitcher who completes at least six Innings and permits no more than three earned

A starting pitcher in professional baseball usually rests three or four days after pitching a game before pitching another. Therefore, most professional baseball teams have four or five starting pitchers on their roster. These pitchers, and the sequence in which they pitch, is known as the rotation. In modern baseball, a five-man rotation is most common. ^[1]

Starting pitchers usually have at least three good pitches—a fastball; a breaking pitch such as a curveball, screwball, or slider; and a changeup. For the American band of the same name see Fastball (band. For the game also known as fast-pitch softball see Softball. In Baseball, a breaking ball is a pitch that does not travel straight like a Fastball as it approaches the batter. The curveball is a breaking pitch in Baseball thrown with a grip and hand movement that imparts down and/or sideways spin to the ball. A screwball is a Baseball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a Slider. In Baseball, a slider is a pitch halfway between a Curveball and a Fastball. A changeup is a type of pitch in Baseball. Other names include change-of-pace and simply change.

Well-known starting pitchers that are in the Baseball Hall of Fame include Cy Young, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Christy Mathewson, Phil Niekro, and Nolan Ryan. Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29 1867 – November 4 1955 was an American Baseball player who pitched for five different major league Pack Robert "Bob" Gibson (born November 9, 1935 in Omaha Nebraska) is a former right-handed Baseball Pitcher for the Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (born October 21, 1926) is a former Major League Baseball Pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career Sanford Koufax (ˈkoʊfæks (born Sanford Braun, on December 30, 1935) is an American Left-handed former Pitcher in Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944 in Miami Florida) is a former left-handed Pitcher in Major League Baseball, from to Christopher "Christy" Mathewson ( August 12 1880 &ndash October 7 1925) nicknamed "Big Six" "The Christian Gentleman" Philip Henry Niekro (born April 1, in Blaine Ohio) is a former Pitcher in Major League Baseball and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr (born January 31, 1947 in Refugio, Texas) is a retired American Right-handed Pitcher in

Well-known starting pitchers that are currently active in MLB include veterans Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine and Pedro Martínez, and such rising stars as Johan Santana, Scott Kazmir, John Maine, John Lackey, Chris Carpenter, Josh Beckett, Jake Peavy, C. C. Sabathia, Dontrelle Willis, Cole Hamels, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Chien-Ming Wang, Barry Zito, Roy Halladay, Aaron Harang, Carlos Zambrano, Fausto Carmona, Ben Sheets, Kip Wells, Andrew Miller, Joe Blanton, Rich Harden, Roy Oswalt, and Félix Hernández. Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966 in San Angelo Texas) is a Pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14 1966 in) is an American Major League Baseball Pitcher. John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967 in) is a Major League Baseball Pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. For other people named Randy Johnson see Randy Johnson (disambiguation Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963 in Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966 in Concord Massachusetts) is an American Left-handed Starting pitcher Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25 1971 in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball Starting pitcher for the For the Dominican -born Major League Baseball player born Johan Santana see Ervin Santana. Scott Edward Kazmir (born January 24, 1984 in Houston Texas) is a left-handed Starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. John Kevin Maine (born May 8 1981 in Fredericksburg Virginia) is an American professional baseball player John Derren Lackey (born October 23 1978 in Abilene, Texas) is a Major league baseball Starting pitcher. Christopher John Carpenter (born April 27, 1975 in Exeter, New Hampshire) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15 1980 in) is a Major League Baseball right-handed Starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Jacob "Jake" Edward Peavy, (ˈpʰiːvi born May 31, 1981, in Mobile, Alabama) is a Cy Young Award -winning Starting Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982 in Oakland California) nicknamed "D-Train" is a Starting pitcher in the Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983 in San Diego California) is a Left-handed Starting pitcher who plays for the is a Japanese Starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan 's Pacific League Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984, in Tacoma Washington) is a left-handed Starting pitcher in Major League Baseball Chien-Ming Wang ( Pinyin: Wáng Jiànmín born March 31, 1980 in Tainan, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese Starting pitcher for Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978 in) is a Left handed Starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball Harry Leroy Halladay III (born May 14 1977 nicknamed Doc, is a Major League Baseball Starting pitcher. Aaron Michael Harang (born May 9, 1978 in San Diego California) is a right-handed Starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds in Carlos Alberto Zambrano (born June 1 1981 in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela) popularly known as "Big Z" or "El Toro", is a right-handed Fausto C Carmona (born December 7, 1983 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Right-handed Pitcher for the Ben M Sheets (born July 18, 1978 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a Major League Baseball Pitcher who plays for the Robert "Kip" Wells (born April 21, 1977 in Houston Texas) is a Major League Baseball Pitcher for the Kansas City Royals Andrew Miller is the name of Andrew Miller (politician (born 1949 member of Parliament UK Andrew Miller (North Dakota (1880 - 1942 Joseph Matthew Blanton (born December 11, 1980 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a Starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian Major League Baseball Starting Roy Edward Oswalt (ˈoʊzwɑːlt (born August 29, 1977 in Weir Mississippi) is an American Major League Baseball player who debuted Félix Abraham Hernández (born April 8, 1986 in Valencia Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball Starting pitcher for the

See also

• Setup man
• Middle reliever
• Closing pitcher
• Left-handed specialist
• Long reliever
• List of World Series starting pitchers

Notes

1. ^ For an evaluation of the relative merits of a 4-man and a 5-man rotation, see Rany Jazayerli, "Doctoring The Numbers: The Five-Man Rotation, Part 3," BaseballProspectus. In Baseball, a setup pitcher (or set-up pitcher, sometimes called the setup man) is a Relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer In Baseball, middle relief pitchers (or "middle relievers" are Relief pitchers who commonly pitch in the 6th or 7th Innings or in situations In Baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL) is a Relief pitcher who specializes in closing out In Baseball, a left-handed specialist is a Left-handed Relief pitcher who specializes in getting left-handed or poor right-handed switch batters Long relievers are a type of Relief pitcher in Baseball. Long relievers traditionally enter early in a game (anywhere from the first inning to the fourth inning when The following chart lists Starting pitchers for each Major League Baseball World Series game Rany Jazayerli (born June 14, 1975) a Chicago -area Dermatologist, is a co-founder and a writer for Baseball Prospectus. com (August 30, 2002). [1]