Editing Batters faced

In [[baseball statistics]], '''Batters Faced'''  ('''BF'''), also known as '''Total Batters Faced''' ('''TBF''') or '''Batters Facing Pitcher''' ('''BFP''')<ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Schwartz |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/new-measures-for-pitchers/ |title=New Measures for Pitchers |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research |access-date=September 1, 2020}}</ref> is the number of [[Batting (baseball)|batters]] who made a [[plate appearance]] before the [[pitcher]] in a game or in a season.

For a given game, the number of plate appearances for an offense is 3×(Innings) + (Runs scored) + (Runners left on base).

==Major league records==

The major league record for batters faced in a career belongs to [[Cy Young]], who faced 29,565 batters between 1890 and 1911.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stathead.com/tiny/wUdDr |title=Pitching Season & Career Finder: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, From 1871 to 2020, (requiring BFP>=20000), sorted by greatest Batters Faced |work=Stathead |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref> [[Will White]] of the Cincinnati Reds holds the single season record; he faced 2,906 batters in 1879.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stathead.com/tiny/ThIZ2 |title=Pitching Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, From 1871 to 2020, (requiring BFP>=2500), sorted by greatest Batters Faced |work=Stathead |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref> The last pitcher to face 1,500 or more batters in a single season was [[Wilbur Wood]] of the [[1973 Chicago White Sox]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stathead.com/tiny/rRrBt |title=Pitching Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, From 1900 to 2020, (requiring BFP>=1500), sorted by most recent date |work=Stathead |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref>

On May 1, 1920, [[Leon Cadore]] of the [[Brooklyn Robins]] faced 96 Boston Braves batters, an MLB single game record dating back to at least 1901.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://stathead.com/tiny/lzML6 | title=Pitching Game Finder: In years 1901 to 2020, (requiring BF>=85), sorted by greatest BF | work=Stathead | accessdate=August 3, 2020}}</ref> Oakland's [[Steve McCatty]] is the last pitcher to face 50 or more batters in a game. McCatty pitched to 51 batters in a 14-inning [[complete game]] loss to the Seattle Mariners on August 10, 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stathead.com/tiny/D7DUH |title=Pitching Game Finder: In years 1976 to 2020, (requiring BF>=50), sorted by greatest BF |work=Stathead |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref>

[[Mike Myers (baseball)|Mike Myers]] made 314 appearances in which he faced just one opposing batter per game, also a record.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://stathead.com/tiny/d2QK6 | title=Pitching Game Finder: In years 1901 to 2020, (requiring BF=1), sorted by greatest number of games in all seasons matching the selected criteria | work=Stathead | accessdate=August 3, 2020}}</ref>

==No batters faced==
It is possible for a pitcher to participate in a game without officially facing a batter. This can happen when a baserunner is [[pickoff|picked off]] or [[caught stealing]] to end either the inning or the game. For example, in a game between the [[San Francisco Giants]] and [[Philadelphia Phillies]] on August 4, 2016, San Francisco's [[Sergio Romo]] entered the game in the bottom of the 9th inning with the game tied and 2 out. Romo threw four pitches to [[Aaron Altherr]] before [[César Hernández (infielder)|César Hernández]] was caught stealing second base to end the inning, after which Romo was replaced. The Giants went on to win the game in [[extra innings]] and Romo was the [[winning pitcher]] despite never officially facing a batter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI201608040.shtml|title=San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score, August 4, 2016 |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=September 1, 2020}}</ref>

A pitcher could also not record a batter faced if he gets injured and has to be replaced before the completion of a plate appearance. [[Larry Yount]] holds the distinction of being the only pitcher in major league history to appear in the record books without ever having officially faced a batter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stathead.com/tiny/5C12A |title=Pitching Season & Career Finder: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, From 1871 to 2020, (requiring BFP=0), sorted by most recent date |publisher=Stathead |access-date=September 1, 2020}}</ref> In Yount's case this was also true in a literal sense as he was injured while throwing a warm-up pitch on his debut and never entered the game, but was credited with doing so due to having already been announced.<ref>{{cite web |first=Tyler |last=Kepner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/sports/baseball/padres-count-on-a-career-200-hitter-to-guide-them-to-contention.html |title=Padres Count on a Career .200 Hitter to Guide Them to Contention| newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 30, 2016 |access-date=September 1, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Pitch count]]
*[[Basic Pitch Count Estimator]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batters faced}}
[[Category:Pitching statistics]]