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. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher. Picture of Fenway Park. ... Italic textSoftball is a team sport in which a ball, eleven to twelve inches in circumference, is thrown by a player called a pitcher and hit by an offensive player called a batter with a round, smooth stick called a bat. ... A baseball pitcher delivers the ball to home plate In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitchers mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a... A relief pitcher warms up in the bullpen as the game goes on A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness or fatigue. ...

In professional baseball, starting pitchers are generally the highest paid players on the team. 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 modern baseball, starting pitchers are rarely expected to pitch for more than 7 or 8 innings, when games are passed to setup men and closers. Often times, 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. The most common pitch count for modern pitchers is 100. Pitch counts are especially common for starting pitchers who are recovering from injury. In the early decades of baseball, it was not uncommong 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. It is speculated that these feats were possible because pitchers in the early years of the 20th century rarely threw the ball with maximum effort, as do modern starters. In baseball, a closer is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing games, i. ... 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. ... Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. ... Doubleheader is the term used to describe two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day. ...

A starting pitcher must complete five innings of work in order to qualify for a win in a game he starts. However, it is possible to be credited with a loss despite pitching less than five innings.

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.

Starting pitchers usually have at least three good pitches—a fastball, a breaking pitch such as a curveball, and a changeup. The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. ... In baseball, a breaking ball is a pitch which does not travel straight like a fastball as it approaches the batter. ... Curveball Pitch Curveball Pitch The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a grip and hand motion that induces extra rotation on the ball causing it to break, to fly in a more exaggerated curve than would be expected. ... A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. ...

Well-known starting pitchers that are in the Baseball Hall of Fame include Cy Young, Bob Gibson, Babe Ruth, Whitey Ford, Sandy Koufax, Phil Niekro, and Nolan Ryan. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, United States, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests that serves as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in North America, the display of baseball-related... Denton True Young (March 29, 1867 - November 4, 1955) was the pre-eminent baseball pitcher during the 1890s and 1900s. ... Bob Gibson (born November 9, 1935) was a right-handed baseball pitcher for the St. ... George Herman Ruth, (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), better known as Babe Ruth and also commonly known by the nicknames The Bambino and The Sultan of Swat, was an American baseball player and United States national icon. ... Edward Charles Whitey Ford (born October 21, 1928) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. ... Sanford Sandy Koufax (born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. ... Philip Henry Niekro (born April 1, 1939 in Blaine, Ohio) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. ... Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. ...

Well-known starting pitchers that are currently active in MLB include veterans Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, David Wells, and Pedro Martinez, and such rising stars as Dontrelle Willis, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett, Barry Zito, Roy Halladay, Kerry Wood, and Jon Garland. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in North America. ... Greg Maddux pitches against the Dodgers as a Chicago Cub Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966 in San Angelo, Texas, USA) is a right-handed baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. ... Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966 in Anchorage, Alaska) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks following the 2003 season. ... William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962 in Dayton, Ohio), nicknamed The Rocket, is among the preeminent Major League baseball pitchers of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. ... Johnson tossing out a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park Randall David Randy Johnson (born September 10, 1963 in Walnut Creek, California), also known as The Big Unit, is a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. ... David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963 in Torrance, California) is a Major League Baseball player who has been one of the games top left-handed pitchers for the past several years. ... Pedro Martinez warming up in right field of Fenway Park before a game, June 22, 2004. ... Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982 in Oakland, California), popularly known as D-Train, is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Florida Marlins who made his debut in 2003 and went on to win the 2003 World Series. ... Johan Alexander Santana (born March 13, 1979) is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher who plays for the Minnesota Twins. ... Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Florida Marlins baseball team. ... Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) is a pitcher with the Oakland Athletics baseball club. ... Harry Leroy Roy Halladay (born May 14, 1977 in Denver, Colorado), or Doc Halladay, is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher. ... There have been several famous people named Kerry Wood: Kerry Wood (baseball player), American baseball player Kerry Wood (author), Canadian writer This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Jon Garland (born September 27, 1979 in Valencia, California) is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played with the Chicago White Sox since 2000. ...

Related Topics

• Relief pitcher
• Closing pitcher