Relief Pitching in Baseball

Over one hundred years ago when Abner Doubleday created the game of baseball, pitchers, like the other eight players on the field usually played the whole game. But as time has gone by more and more pitchers have become a part of the game. At first only eight or nine of the 25 players on the roster were pitchers. Teams would have a four or five man roster of starting pitchers with a few to take over when needed. First it was just one guy to finish the last inning or two of a game to finish or close the game. In those early days of baseball, actually up until the past 30 or 40 years, day game doubleheaders were commonplace. Those were the days of radio and bus travel.

Baseball in the modern era has changed considerably. Today the game is more about money than the game itself. Doubleheaders are rare today because the owners can't make as much money on a doubleheader as they can with two single games where fans have to pay twice to see two games. Money is also a reason for the increased number of pitchers. While the increased number in pitchers reduces the amount of position players, owners believe it is worth the price and the reduction in man power on the field.

For some baseball is about pitching and defense. To that end pitching has become a specialization of starter, long reliever, short reliever, and closer. What once took one, two men at the most has become four and five or more pitchers in a game. With the long reliever the starter no longer has the opportunity to complete a game. In those early days a starting pitcher could easily have 20 or more complete games in a season; today an entire franchise is lucky to come anywhere close to 20 complete games.

In this era of professional baseball a starting pitcher only has to complete five or six innings then he turns the job over to a long reliever who then turns it over to a short reliever who then gives it to the closer. A starting pitcher only has to complete five innings in order to get a win or they might even be required to pitch fewer innings. This age of specialization may create a few jobs for pitchers who could not make it any other way as a professional, it also changes the complexion of the game. It is no longer a game of one team outplaying the other, but a game of coaches trying one oneupmanship in the game of strategy.

With the complete game almost unheard of, the game of baseball has become more like a game of chess on a baseball diamond than a good old fashioned game of baseball.