Win (baseball)

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In baseball, a pitcher is credited with a win (or "W") when, in a game won by his team, he is the team's pitcher at the time that his team takes a lead that it does not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

An exception to this is that a pitcher who starts a game cannot be credited with a win if he does not pitch at least five innings. If his team takes a lead it does not relinquish while that pitcher is in the game, the win is awarded to the relieving pitcher who, in the judgment of the scorer, pitched the most effectively. The winning pitcher cannot, however, be a pitcher who is credited with a save in the same game.

A loss (denoted by "L") is charged to the pitcher who, in a game lost by his team, is charged with allowing the run that gives the opposing team a lead they do not relinquish for the remainder of the game. The pitcher who gives up a hit to score the "go-ahead run" does not necessarily receive the loss, it goes to the pitcher who allowed the run-scoring player to reach base. The pitchers that receive the win and the loss are known, collectively, as the pitchers of record.

For example, in a tie ball game, if pitcher A walks a batter and then is relieved by pitcher B who then gives up a home run, the first run allowed is recorded to pitcher A and the second to pitcher B. Thus, pitcher A gave up the run that gave the opposing team the lead, and pitcher A will be credited with the loss if the other team does not relinquish the lead, even though pitcher B was on the mound when the go-ahead hit occurred.

Every game (excluding the rare tie game) has both a winning and a losing pitcher. A pitcher who starts a game but leaves without earning either a win or a loss (that is, before his either team gains or surrenders the ultimate lead) is said to have received a no decision, regardless of his individual performance.

A pitcher's total wins and losses are commonly noted together; a pitching record of 12-10 indicates 12 wins and 10 losses.

In the early years of major league baseball (USA) before 1900 it was common for an exceptional pitcher to win 40 or more games in one season. However, after that, pitchers made fewer and fewer starts and the standard changed. In the first third of the 20th century (especially in the Live Ball Era), winning 30 games became the rare mark of excellent achievement; this standard diminished to 25 games during the 1940s through 1980s (the only pitcher to win 30 or more games during that time was Denny McLain in 1968, in what was an anomalous pitching-dominated season).

Since 1990, this has changed even further, as winning 20 or more games in a single season is now achieved by only a handful of pitchers each season (for example, in 2004 only three of the more than five hundred major league pitchers (Johan Santana, Curt Schilling, and Roy Oswalt) did so). Winning 25 or more games is now considered one of the highest marks of extreme success and excellence in the sport, on a par with winning 30 or more games a generation or two ago. It is so rare now that the last pitcher to even do this was Bob Welch back in 1990 though it was achieved several times per decade immediately before that.

Wins have become in an increasingly controversial way of determining a pitcher's brilliance. A fair amount of baseball critics argue that many times a win is completely out of the pitcher's control, and in turn a dominant pitcher with weak run support from the offense can have a substantial losing record, which affects Cy Young Award consideration. For instance, in 2004, Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Ben Sheets had a losing record of 12-14, despite displaying an easy league best 8:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and was among baseball's Top 5 in ERA (2.70) and WHIP (0.98).

Records

Career wins

All the pitchers listed below are members of the 300-win Club, one of the most coveted landmarks for pitchers. Members of the 300-win Club are dead locks for the Baseball Hall of Fame, and all members (except for Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens, who have not retired as of 2005) are indeed Hall-of-Famers.

The 300th win today is a cause for on-field celebration. The achievement is exceedingly rare in modern times as starters are getting fewer starts.

(Bold denotes active pitchers as of 2006)

Win (baseball)

Records

Career wins

See also