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Middle Relief Pitcher
In baseball, a middle reliever, or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League before 2022 and the Japanese Central League, a middle reliever often comes in after the starting pitcher has been pulled in favor of a pinch hitter. Middle-relief pitchers are usually tasked to pitch one, two, or three innings. Several factors determine this, such as who’s winning, the score, eligible bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ... pitchers remaining, the importance of the current game, etc. After the middle relief pitcher has completed his portion, they are normally replaced in later innings by a left/right-han ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch (baseball), plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team (baseball), fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a Baseball (ball), ball that a player on the batting team (baseball), batting team, called the Batter (baseball), batter, tries to hit with a baseball bat, bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the Base (baseball), bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "Run (baseball), runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming Base running, runners, and to prevent runners base running ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relief Pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection (sports), ejection, high pitch count, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather delays or pinch hitter substitutions. Relief pitchers are further divided informally into various roles, such as Closer (baseball), closers, setup men, middle relief pitchers, left-handed specialist, left/right-handed specialists, and long relievers. Whereas starting pitchers usually pitch count, throw so many pitches in a single game that they must rest several days before pitching in another, relief pitchers are expected to be more flexible and typically pitch in more games with a shorter time period between pitching appearances but with fewer innings pitched per appearance. A team's staff of relievers is normally referred to Metonymy, metonym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inning
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team playing defense. A full baseball game is typically scheduled for nine innings, while softball games consist of seven innings, although this may be shortened due to weather, or extended if the score is tied at the end of the scheduled innings. The use of the term ''inning'' in baseball and softball contrasts with cricket and rounders, in which the term is '' innings'' in both singular and plural. Gameplay Each half-inning formally starts when the umpire calls "Play" or "Play ball". A full inning consists of six outs, three for each team, and, in Major League Baseball and most other adult leagues, a regulation game consists of nine innings. The visiting team bats in the first half-inning, the top of the inning, derived from the position ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Designated Hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as a Fielding (baseball), fielder or a pitcher during a game. Due to their specialized offensive-only role, the designated hitter is generally expected to produce above average offensive stats and production compared to other players who play defense. In Major League Baseball, the position is authorized by Rule 5.11 of the Official Baseball Rules. It was adopted by the American League in and by the National League (baseball), National League in , making it universal in MLB. Within that time frame, nearly all amateur baseball, amateur, college baseball, collegiate, and professional baseball, professional leagues worldwide have adopted the designated hitter or some variant, except for Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Major Leagu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National League (baseball)
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875 (often called simply the "National Association"), the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The National League survived competition from various other professional baseball leagues during the late 19th century. Most did not last for more than a few seasons, with a handful of teams joining the NL once their leagues folded. The American League declared itself a second major league in 1901, and the AL and NL engaged in a "baseball war" durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central League
The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country. Unlike the Pacific League, designated hitters are not used during Central League home games. History The Central League was founded in 1949 with eight teams: four holdovers from the previous Japanese Baseball League — the Chunichi Dragons, the Hanshin Tigers, the Yomiuri Giants, and the Shochiku Robins (formerly the Taiyō Robins) — and four new teams — the Hiroshima Carp, the Kokutetsu Swallows, the Nishi Nippon Pirates, and the Taiyō Whales. The Nishi Nippon Pirates existed for one season — they placed sixth in 1950, and the following season merged with the also Fukuoka-based Nishitetsu Clippers (a member of the Pacific League) to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starting Pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitchers are expected to pitch for a significant portion of the game, although their ability to do this depends on many factors, including effectiveness, stamina, health, and strategy. A starting pitcher in professional baseball usually rests three, four, or five days after pitching a game before pitching in another. Therefore, most professional baseball teams have four, five or six starting pitchers on their rosters. These pitchers, and the sequence in which they pitch, is known as the ''rotation''. A team's best starter is known as the ace, and is almost always the first man to pitch in the rotation. In modern baseball, a five-man rotation is most common. In contrast, a pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinch Hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football or ice hockey, and in a similar way to association football, baseball does not have a free substitution rule (at the professional level) and thus the replaced player is not allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinch hitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter (often the pitcher) or to gain a platoon advantage. The player chosen to be a pinch hitter is often a backup infielder or outfielder whose defensive skills are limited. In Major League Baseball (MLB), catchers are less likely to be called upon to pinch-hit, because most teams have only two catchers. Pitchers are rarely used as pinch hitters, because they tend to be worse hitters th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if they have not yet played in a game, rather than in the dugout with the rest of the team. The starting pitcher also makes their final pregame warm-up throws in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin their warm-up tosses. Relief pitchers are often assisted in their warm-ups by specialized coaches known as bullpen catchers. Each team generally has its own bullpen consisting of two pitching rubbers and plates at regulation distance from each other. In most Major League Baseball parks, the bullpens are situated out-of-play behind the outfield fence. Etymology The term first appeared in wide use shortly after the turn of the 20th century, and has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Relief Pitcher
In baseball, a middle reliever, or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League before 2022 and the Japanese Central League, a middle reliever often comes in after the starting pitcher has been pulled in favor of a pinch hitter. Middle-relief pitchers are usually tasked to pitch one, two, or three innings. Several factors determine this, such as who’s winning, the score, eligible bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ... pitchers remaining, the importance of the current game, etc. After the middle relief pitcher has completed his portion, they are normally replaced in later innings by a left/right-han ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Left-handed Specialist
In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed Batter (baseball), batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Because baseball practices Baseball rules#Substitutions, permanent substitution, these pitchers frequently pitch to a very small number of batters in any given game (historically, often only one), and rarely pitch to strictly right-handed batters. Most Major League Baseball (MLB) teams have several left-handed pitchers on their rosters, at least one of whom is a left-handed specialist. A left-handed specialist is sometimes called a ''LOOGY'' (or Lefty One-Out GuY), coined by John Sickels, and may be used pejoratively. Pitching style The pitcher generally has an advantage when his handedness is the same as the batter's, and the batter has an advantage when they are opposite. This is because a right-handed pitcher's breaking ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setup Pitcher
In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As closers were reduced to one-inning specialists, setup men became more prominent. Setup pitchers often come into the game with the team losing or the game tied. They are usually the second best relief pitcher on a team, behind the closer. After closers became one-inning pitchers, primarily in the ninth inning, setup pitchers became more highly valued. A pitcher who succeeds in this role is often promoted to a closer, and often fill in for the regular closer when the regular closer needs a day off for rest. Setup men are paid less than closers and mostly make less than the average Major League salary. The most common statistic used to evaluate relievers is the save. Due to the definition of the statistic, setup men are rarely in position ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
