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Getting The Win

Imagine this scenario in the Major Leagues: Starting pitcher A pitches three scoreless innings while his team supports him with 4 runs. So, at the end of the third inning, the score is 4-0. Pitcher A then feels soreness in his arm and is taken out after the third inning. He’s replaced with Pitcher B, who pitches 1 inning and allows 2 runs. Pitcher C then comes in and pitches 4 shutout innings and is followed by Pitcher D who closes out the ninth inning and the game ends 4-0. Pitcher D would get the save in this scenario, but who gets the win? Pitcher A, B or C?

The answer is... well, it depends! Many people think that the winning pitcher is automatically decided by who pitched when the team who last took the lead. However, the stat is officially decided by the scorekeeper of the game. This brings in Rule 10.17 of the MLB Official Rule Book, which governs how winning and losing pitchers are decided. The rule is a whopping 706 words long and describes how the scorekeeper determines who gets the win. 10.17(b) describes who should get the win in the scenario above. If a starting pitcher leaves a game before pitching 5 innings and his team does not relinquish the lead, then the scorekeeper is instructed to give the win to the relief pitcher who was the “most effective”. So the answer for the above scenario is that Pitcher C should get the win. Pitcher A was the starting pitcher, but did not last 5 innings. Pitcher B was not very effective, allowing 2 runs in 1 inning. Pitcher C was very effective and therefore gets the win.

Why add such a twist to a rule that could be simple? I’m not sure the exact reason, but I could think of two possible scenarios. The first would be to keep teams from gaming the stat. If you wanted a pitcher to amass a lot of wins, a manager could have him pitch until the team took the lead and then bring in a relief pitcher and let the starting pitcher 1 or 2 days later. Although not probable, it is possible. Another possible explanation is that in the early 20th century, it was routine for a pitcher to pitch late into a game or pitch the entire game. Coming out early was considered embarrassing. So, why reward a pitcher who cannot finish out even half of a game with a win?

This also brings up another point. The average number of innings pitched by starting pitchers has been on the decline. I doubt it will ever dip lower than 5, but it is not out of the question for a starting pitcher to pitch 4 innings and be replaced. This scenario is even more likely in the playoffs when games are closer and managers keep pitchers on a short leash. This rule gets invoked a couple times each year - it will be interesting to see if the league decides to keep the definition of the statistic the same or not.