Editing Relief pitcher (section)

==Current relief roles==
Pitching staffs on MLB teams have grown from 9 or 10 to as many as 12 or 13 pitchers, due to the increased importance of relief pitching.<ref>[[#zimniuch|Zimniuch 2010]], pp. xxi, 153–4.</ref> The staff generally consists of five starting pitchers, with the remaining pitchers assigned as relievers.<ref>[[#zimniuch|Zimniuch 2010]], pp. 159, 166–7.</ref> A team's relief staff usually contains a [[closer (baseball)|closer]] who generally pitches the ninth inning, a [[setup pitcher]] who generally pitches the eighth, and a [[left-handed specialist]] whose job is to retire left-handed batters. The rest of the bullpen then consists of [[middle reliever]]s who are used in the remaining situations, and perhaps additional left-handed or [[left-handed specialist#Right-handed specialist|right-handed]] specialists.<ref>[[#zimniuch|Zimniuch 2010]], p. 154.</ref>

The closer is usually the best relief pitcher, followed by the setup man.<ref>[[#zimniuch|Zimniuch 2010]], p. 163.</ref> Players typically get promoted into later-inning roles as they succeed.<ref>[[#zimniuch|Zimniuch 2010]], pp. 165, 171–3.</ref><ref name=passan>{{cite news |first=Jeff |last=Passan|author-link=Jeff Passan|title=Should managers play Scrabble with relievers? |publisher=Yahoo! Sports |date= April 26, 2010 |url=https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-relievers042610 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119211627/http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-relievers042610 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref> Relievers were previously more multipurpose before becoming one-inning specialists.<ref name=passan/><ref>[[#zimniuch|Zimniuch 2010]], p. 167.</ref>

The setup man and closer will normally only be used to preserve a lead, although they may enter to maintain a close game (where the score is tied or if their team is trailing by only a few runs) particularly in the playoffs. If the team is significantly behind going into the eighth or ninth inning and a relief pitcher is required, usually a middle reliever or two will be chosen to soak up innings, while the setup man and closer are saved for the next time they are needed to preserve a win.<ref>Baseball Explained by Phillip Mahony, McFarland Books, 2014. See [http://www.baseballexplained.com www.baseballexplained.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813034018/http://www.baseballexplained.com/ |date=August 13, 2014 }}</ref> The proper use of the bullpen is to avoid using an effective reliever on a low-leverage situation, instead saving them as "fireman" for high-leverage situations (such as bases-loaded, no-outs).<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/10/9/17954120/yankees-red-sox-game-3-aaron-boone-severino-lynn-green | title=Aaron Boone's Game 3 Pitching Calls Were Confounding| date=October 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/ryan-madson-and-the-dodgers-are-faltering-when-it-matters-most/|title = Ryan Madson and the Dodgers Are Faltering when It Matters Most|date = October 25, 2018}}</ref>

In 2018, some MLB teams began experimenting with an [[opener (baseball)|opener]] – a pitcher who is normally a reliever that starts the game for an inning or two before yielding to someone who would normally be a starter. Sometimes the manager replaces an opener with a series of other relievers who would only pitch one or two innings in a game, usually due to injury or fatigue affecting the team's starters or other strategical reasons; this approach became known as a ''bullpen game''. One advantage of this approach is that the opener, who is often a hard-throwing specialist, can be called in to face the most dangerous hitters, who are usually near the top of the batting order, the first time they come to bat.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/could-teams-use-opener-during-postseason/c-296180232|title=Could the 'opener' be utilized in postseason?
|first=Richard|last=Justice|date=September 27, 2018|access-date=September 27, 2018|work=MLB.com}}</ref> Although the opener has only been formally regarded as a relief role in 2018, managers have sporadically used a reliever before a starter. A good example is Game 6 of the [[1990 National League Championship Series]] when [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] manager [[Jim Leyland]] started a set-up man, [[Ted Power]], in order to keep the [[Cincinnati Reds]] from employing their successful platoon (Power pitched {{frac|2|1|3}} innings prior to giving way to lefty starter [[Zane Smith (baseball)|Zane Smith]] in the third inning) and the strategy worked in holding the Reds to only two runs; to deceive his opponents Leyland had announced the Game 6 starter at a press conference so that the Reds would set their batting order around Smith.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24884073/a-brief-history-bullpenning |title = Openers? Bullpenning? It's not nearly as new as you think|date = October 4, 2018}}</ref>