What makes a closing pitcher

In addition to a team having multiple relief pitchers, the category of relief pitcher can be broken down into further categories. What are the different types of relief pitchers?

Each different type of relief pitcher has its own general rules around what their responsibilities are and when they typically enter a game. When a team is winning towards the end of the game, a common strategy is to bring in a special type of relief pitcher that has the label of CP. What is CP in baseball?

And what position is CP in baseball? In baseball, CP stands for Closing Pitcher. The CP is a specialized Relief Pitcher who enters the game in the final inning while their team has the lead. Closing Pitchers are generally thought to be the best Relief Pitcher on the team. When a Closing Pitcher performs their job correctly, they earn a Save.

Most Closing Pitchers pitch for only one inning. This leads a lot of people to wonder why are there closers in baseball? In general, baseball has closing pitchers because the defense gets an advantage by bringing in a rested pitcher who specializes in pitching during high-stress situations. Good closing pitchers give their team the best chance to win by pitching in the final inning of a game. Even though it might seem counter-intuitive to bring in a new pitcher to throw for only three outs, those last three outs of the game can be the toughest three outs to get, especially when the game is on the line.

Closing pitchers also have the advantage of being available to throw for multiple games in a row. Unlike other pitchers, closers are only needed for three outs each time they pitch so they are more likely to be rested and ready to pitch multiple days in a row. Aroldis Chapman NYY.

Craig Kimbrel CHW. Liam Hendriks CHW. Will Smith ATL. Felipe Vazquez PIT. Edwin Diaz NYM. Ryan Pressly HOU. Matt Barnes BOS. Josh Hader MIL. Taylor Rogers MIN. Mark Melancon SD. Daniel Bard COL. Richard Rodriguez ATL. Lou Trivino OAK. Alexander Reyes STL. If the pitcher against whose pitching the opposing team gained the lead continues to pitch until his team regains the lead, which it holds to the finish of the game, that pitcher shall be the winning pitcher.

It is the intent of Rule 9. If the first relief pitcher pitches effectively, the Official Scorer should not presumptively credit that pitcher with the win, because the rule requires that the win be credited to the pitcher who was the most effective, and a subsequent relief pitcher may have been most effective.

If two or more relief pitchers were similarly effective, the Official Scorer should give the presumption to the earlier pitcher as the winning pitcher. In such a case, the Official Scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the judgment of the Official Scorer. Rule 9. Whenever the score is tied, the game becomes a new contest insofar as the losing pitcher is concerned.

In such games, the Official Scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher that pitcher whose team assumes a lead while such pitcher is in the game, or during the inning on offense in which such pitcher is removed from the game, and does not relinquish such lead, unless such pitcher is knocked out after the winning team has attained a commanding lead and the Official Scorer concludes that a subsequent pitcher is entitled to credit as the winning pitcher.