Relief pitcher
In the early days of Major League Baseball (MLB), substituting a player was not allowed except for sickness or injury.
The first relief appearance in the major leagues was in 1876 with Boston Red Caps outfielder Jack Manning switching positions with pitcher Joe Borden.
[6] Another reliever, Johnny Murphy, became known as "Fireman" for his effectiveness when inserted into difficult situations ("put out fires") in relief.
Later research would reveal that Lefty Grove would have been in his league's top three in saves in four different seasons, had that stat been invented at the time.
[11] In 1969, the pitcher's mound was lowered and umpires were encouraged to call fewer strikes to give batters an advantage.
[20] From the mid-2010s onward, MLB teams have given relievers an increasing number of innings at the expense of starters, due to the baseball game moving towards higher variance, and a flexible bullpen does give the manager more options of defending against high risk offensive strategies.
[21] Similarly the 2019 Washington Nationals won the 2019 World Series in spite of their relief pitching staff having the worst ERA (5.66) that season.
The rest of the bullpen then consists of middle relievers who are used in the remaining situations, and perhaps additional left-handed or right-handed specialists.
[28][29] The setup man and closer will normally only be used to preserve a lead, although they may enter to maintain a close game (where the score is tied or if their team is trailing by only a few runs) particularly in the playoffs.
[31][32] In 2018, some MLB teams began experimenting with an opener – a pitcher who is normally a reliever that starts the game for an inning or two before yielding to someone who would normally be a starter.
A good example is Game 6 of the 1990 National League Championship Series when Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland started a set-up man, Ted Power, in order to keep the Cincinnati Reds from employing their successful platoon (Power pitched 2+1⁄3 innings prior to giving way to lefty starter Zane Smith in the third inning) and the strategy worked in holding the Reds to only two runs; to deceive his opponents Leyland had announced the Game 6 starter at a press conference so that the Reds would set their batting order around Smith.
However, the 2018 Boston Red Sox under Alex Cora managed their pitching rotation such that a starter was readily available in the bullpen every playoff game.
[39][40] Starter Madison Bumgarner recorded the longest save in World Series history, pitching five scoreless innings of relief in a Game 7 3–2 victory of the 2014 edition.
[49][50] The second position player to pitch in the playoffs was Austin Romine during Game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series.
Compared to starting pitchers, most relievers (with the except of closers with large save totals) receive few awards and honors.
[55] Middle reliever Andrew Miller became the first relief pitcher other than a closer to win a League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award when he was voted the 2016 ALCS MVP.
When closers play at home, and when they are called into the game to preserve a lead for the crucial last inning or those last couple of outs, many of them trot in from the bullpen to the pitchers mound accompanied by a theme song of their choice.
When Jonathan Papelbon was with the Red Sox, his entry song was the Dropkick Murphys' "I'm Shipping Up to Boston", and Hoffman entered to the tune of AC/DC's "Hells Bells".
Eckersley, who was considered the first modern closer pitching exclusively in ninth inning situations, also had a significant career as a starting pitcher and even threw a no-hitter in 1977.
Jim Konstanty in 1950 was the first reliever to win the MLB MVP Award after a then-record 74 games, 16–7 record, 22 saves, and a 2.66 ERA.
Three relief pitchers have won both the MVP and Cy Young Awards in a single season; Fingers in 1981, Willie Hernández in 1984, and Eckersley in 1992.
