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Why does the pitcher get 'all' the credit?
by Jim
Team Win
Jim asked: In a TEAM sport, why does one player -- the pitcher -- get all the credit for a win or loss, or even a play? As players look back over any given game, there are always multiple factors that come together to either produce a win, or to create a loss. It can be within a team, or sometimes the factors come from outside the team, from the opponents game that day. A pitcher who was just unhittable that day, or a defense that made a number of game saving plays, to an offense that just out hit you that day. No one individual is ever entirely responsible for a team loss, nor are they entirely responsible for a team win. When you hear the play by play announcers provide credit to a pitcher when a batter hits a ground ball, pops up, flies out, it is still shared credit. When hitters don't make solid contact, or a pitcher gets them off balance and they hit the ball weakly, that is the initial cause of the lack of contact, that eventually results in the recorded out by however many fielders participate in that particular play. The out itself, is still a team out, only one of the 27 it will take to finish the ballgame. All nine players in the lineup get statistical credit for plays in which they are physically involved, such as a 6-4-3 double play. When the announcers say that a pitcher has set down so many hitters in a row, his comment is aimed at the fact that the pitcher has been making some good pitches and not giving up base hits. That string of hitters set down without hits or walks is a true measure the pitcher is on track; but teams and players all know a pitcher cannot do it all alone, nor can any other player. In the game of baseball, you have three basic categories: Hitting, Pitching and Fielding. On any given day, if you have all three going on, you will be pretty hard to beat. If you have two going, you have a better than average chance to be successful. If you have one going, it will be hard at best. All 3 out of action and it's a long day at the yard. Yours in baseball, Rick |
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