What's a "closer" in baseball?

Question

Just read the sports page (which I don't normaly do). I know what a closer is in detective work (Love the TV show) but what is a closer in the sports world?

Answer 1

A closer is a pitcher who is saved until the last inning of the game before he is brought in. He is usually the most difficult pitcher on the team to get a hit off of, though does not usually have much stamina. These guys literally close out the game.

Answer 2

The manager will put in a replacement pitcher around the ninth inning to close the game, to seal the deal; he is the closer.

Answer 3

A Relief Pitcher is known by nickname as the "closer" because he only comes in at the end of the game in the 9th inning to finish the game. The term closer is used because he will only come in when his team is winning and they want to CLOSE THE DEAL or make sure the game is won. Closers have much mystique and usually have theme music like a professional wrestler when they run to the pitchers mound from the bullpen. In case you dont know what the bullpen is, its the place where all pitchers warm up just before they enter the game. When a Closer is successful in shutting down the opposition in the 9th inning he receives a statistic called a SAVE. Saves are the benchmark for a great closer, the more of them you have the more success you are judged by.  A relief pitcher with 23 saves on the year means this pitcher did not give up a lead in 23 chances to CLOSE out the game. Hence the nickname-CLOSER, again technically they are called Relief Pitchers.