Baseball Basics: Pitching Rotation
All teams in Major League Baseball are required to have a roster that comprises of at least 25 players. 13 of these spots are usually filled in by position or defensive players while 11 positions are filled in by pitchers. The 25th spot is usually
filled in by managerial preference, i.e. the manager can add an extra pitcher or an extra position player. This decision largely depends on the strength and the strategy of the team.
The pitchers can be substituted any time during the game and as with the hitters, they cannot return to the game at a later stage.
The pitchers can be divided into three broad categories; the starting pitchers, the middle-relief pitchers and the late-innings relievers who are sometimes also referred to as closers.
The starting pitchers usually play as a rotation. The rotation usually includes five starting pitchers and each pitcher gets a chance to start the game every fifth day. This rotation can be increased to six starters or sometimes reduced to four starters,
depending on the quality and fitness of the pitchers.
Adjusting the schedule of the pitchers is another strategic task. Usually the manager and the pitching coach devise a strategy to adjust their rotation in such a manner that they gain advantage in at least two of the normal three-games per series. This can
be done by playing the least effective player against opposition’s best pitcher and then exposing the team’s best pitcher against the lesser ranked pitchers.
The best pitcher in the team is referred to as the “ace” of the team and is expected to run through games without much assistance from the bull-pen and emerge successful most of the times. This would mean that a quality-pitcher would throw around eight innings
in a game before returning to the bull-pen and on a good day, he might even pitch a complete-game.
The starting ace pitchers, when playing on a pitcher’s ballpark, attempt to throw a complete-game shutout which is the peak for any pitcher. Some pitchers go one step ahead and end up throwing a no-hitter which means that the batters are not allowed to connect
a single throw. This, however, is very rare and is not a regular feature in the game of baseball.
The pitchers are seated away from the team’s bench in an area called the bull-pen. This is an area where relievers usually warm-up before making their way to the mound. The middle-relievers or the closers, depending on the game situation, are asked to warm-up
at least five to ten minutes before they are needed on the mound as this is the minimum time required for a pitcher to warm-up. However, if the pitcher on the mound gets injured and an emergency replacement is required, the replacing pitcher is allowed to
warm-up on the mound.
A baseball game is not usually restricted to the regular nine innings and continues to extra innings until a clear winner emerges. In such circumstances, the bull-pen might exhaust and the team might require a makeshift pitcher to perform the duties on the
mound. Every team usually has a position player who has the basic ingredients to pitch in such situations.
The manager can also junk a game in situations when he feels that the game cannot be won. The manager then saves his best pitcher and allows the less effective pitchers to complete the game.
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