Editing Complete game

{{Short description|Pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher}}
[[File:Cy Young by Conlon, 1911-crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cy Young]], the all-time MLB complete-game leader]]
In [[baseball]], a '''complete game''' ('''CG''') is the act of a [[pitcher]] pitching an entire game without the benefit of a [[relief pitcher]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dickson |first=Paul |author-link= Paul Dickson (writer) | title=The new Dickson baseball dictionary |page=130 |year=1999 | publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] | isbn=978-0-15-600580-7| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=afQVWhAm1TEC&q=the%20new%20dickson%20baseball%20dictionary&pg=PA130| access-date=August 27, 2011}}</ref> A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitchers who throw an entire [[official game]] that is shortened by rain will still be credited with a complete game, while starting pitchers who are relieved in [[extra innings]] after throwing nine or more innings will not be credited with a complete game. A starting pitcher who is replaced by a [[pinch hitter]] in the final half inning of a game will still be credited with a complete game.

Complete games have become increasingly rare over the course of baseball history. In the early 20th century, pitchers completed almost all of the games they started, and they were generally expected to do so. In modern baseball, the feat is much more rare. Since 1975, no pitcher has thrown 30 or more complete games in a season; in the 21st century, only twice has any pitcher thrown 10 or more complete games in a season. 

==Historical trend==
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" style="text-align: right"
|+ Historical MLB complete game trend
|-
! Year !! Games started !! Complete games !! Complete game % !! class="unsortable"| Ref
|-
|{{mlby|1904}} || 2,496 || 2,186 || 87.6 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus>[[#prospectus2007|Baseball Prospectus 2007, p.75]]</ref>
|-
|{{mlby|1914}} || 3,758 || 2,067 || 55.0 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1924}} || 2,462 || 1,198 || 48.7 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1934}} || 2,446 || 1,061 || 43.4 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1944}} || 2,484 || 1,123 || 45.2 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1954}} || 2,472 || 840  || 34.0 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1964}} || 3,252 || 797 || 24.5 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1974}} || 3,890 || 1,089 || 28.0 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1984}} || 4,210 || 632 || 15.0 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|1994}} || 3,200 || 255 || 8.0 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|2004}} || 4,854 || 150 || 3.1 || <ref name=baseball_prospectus/>
|-
|{{mlby|2014}} || 4,860 || 118 || 2.4 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2014-standard-pitching.shtml |title=2014 Major League Baseball Standard Pitching |publisher=[[Sports Reference LLC]] |access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>
|-
|{{mlby|2024}} || 4,858 || 28 || 0.6 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2024-standard-pitching.shtml|title=2024 Major League Baseball Standard Pitching |publisher=[[Sports Reference LLC]] |access-date=October 2, 2014}}</ref>
|}
In the early 20th century, it was common for most good [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start, barring injury or ejection. Pitchers were expected to complete games they started. Over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, complete games became less common, to the point where a modern pitcher may pitch an entire season without throwing a complete game. (In the 2024 MLB season, 0.6% of starts were complete games.)<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2024.shtml] 2024 Major League Baseball Standard Pitching </ref> To put this in perspective, as recently as the 1980s, 10–15 complete games a year by a star pitcher was not unheard of, and in 1980, [[Oakland Athletics]] pitcher [[Rick Langford]] threw 22 consecutive complete games.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?n1=langfri01&t=p&year=1980&share=1.82#129-150-sum:pitching_gamelogs Rick Langford Game Logs 1980 Season]</ref> Years earlier, [[Robin Roberts (baseball)|Robin Roberts]] of the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] threw 28 consecutive complete games, spanning the 1952 and 1953 seasons. In 1962, a news article detailed [[Bo Belinsky]]'s concern when he failed to complete six starts in a row.<ref>{{cite web|last=Richman|first=Milton|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19620623&id=RaAfAAAAIBAJ&pg=836,2145793&hl=en|title=Belinsky Finally Wins 7th|work=The Gadsden Times|page=8|date=June 22, 1962|access-date=May 31, 2020}}</ref>

This change has been brought about by strict adherence to [[pitch count]]s as a basis for removing a pitcher, even though he may appear to be pitching well, and new pitching philosophies in general. Many have come to believe that the risk of arm injuries becomes far more prevalent after a pitcher has thrown 100 to 120 pitches in a single game.<ref>[[#prospectus2007|Baseball Prospectus 2007, p.79]]</ref> Though Hall-of-Famer [[Nolan Ryan]] once threw well over 200 pitches in a single game (a 1974 contest in which he pitched 13 innings),<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CAL/CAL197406140.shtml June 14, 1974 Boxscore, Red Sox vs. Angels]</ref> it is now rare for a manager to allow a pitcher to throw more than 120 pitches in a start. Former pitcher [[Carl Erskine]] noted the increase in ex-pitchers on coaching staffs since the 1950s, whom he considered better evaluators of a pitchers' ability to pitch late into games.<ref>{{cite book|title=Fireman: The Evolution of the Closer in Baseball|first=Fran|last=Zimniuch|pages=[https://archive.org/details/firemanevolution0000zimn/page/73 73–4]|publisher=[[Triumph Books]]|location=Chicago|year=2010|isbn=978-1-60078-312-8|ref=zimniuch|url=https://archive.org/details/firemanevolution0000zimn/page/73}}</ref> Given this, [[sabermetrician]]s generally regard [[Cy Young]]'s total of 749 complete games as the career baseball record that will never be broken.{{citation needed|date=July 2011}}  Further supporting the belief is that only three pitchers (Young, Ryan, and [[Don Sutton]]) even made at least 749 starts in their careers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/GS_career.shtml |title= Career Leaders & Records for Games Started |publisher=Baseball-Reference |access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>

[[James Shields (baseball)|James Shields]] threw 11 complete games in the 2011 season for the [[Tampa Bay Rays]], becoming the first pitcher to reach double digits in a single season since [[CC Sabathia]] threw 10 complete games for the [[Cleveland Indians]] and [[Milwaukee Brewers]] in 2008. The last pitcher to throw as many as 15 complete games in a single season was [[Curt Schilling]], who accomplished that feat for the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] in 1998. The last pitcher to throw 20 complete games in a single season was [[Fernando Valenzuela]], who did so for the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] in 1986. The last pitcher to throw 25 complete games in a season was [[Rick Langford]], who had 28 for the [[Oakland Athletics]] in 1980. The last pitcher to throw 30 complete games in a season was [[Catfish Hunter]], who did so for the [[New York Yankees]] in 1975.

==Career leaders==
{{Further|List of Major League Baseball career complete games leaders}}
# [[Cy Young]]&nbsp;– 749
# [[Pud Galvin]]&nbsp;– 646
# [[Tim Keefe]]&nbsp;– 554
# [[Walter Johnson]]&nbsp;– 531
# [[Kid Nichols]]&nbsp;– 531
# [[Bobby Mathews]]&nbsp;– 525
# [[Mickey Welch]]&nbsp;– 525
# [[Charley Radbourn]]&nbsp;– 489
# [[John Clarkson]]&nbsp;– 485
# [[Tony Mullane]]&nbsp;– 468
# [[Jim McCormick (pitcher)|Jim McCormick]]&nbsp;– 466
# [[Gus Weyhing]]&nbsp;– 448
# [[Grover Cleveland Alexander]]&nbsp;– 437
# [[Christy Mathewson]]&nbsp;– 434
# [[Jack Powell (pitcher, born 1874)|Jack Powell]]&nbsp;– 422
# [[Eddie Plank]]&nbsp;– 410
# [[Will White]]&nbsp;– 394
# [[Amos Rusie]]&nbsp;– 392
# [[Vic Willis]]&nbsp;– 388
# [[Tommy Bond (baseball)|Tommy Bond]]&nbsp;– 386

All pitchers above are right-handed, except for Eddie Plank. All also played most or all of their careers before the start of the modern [[live-ball era]] of baseball, which began during the 1920 season and was fully established in 1921. Among pitchers whose entire careers were in the live-ball era, the all-time leader in complete games is [[Warren Spahn]], whose total of 382 places him 21st all-time.

==Active career leaders==
Through March 28, 2024, the top 9 active players who lead MLB in career complete games were:<ref>{{Cite web
  | url = https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/CG_active.shtml
  | title = Active Career Leaders in Complete Games
  | work = Baseball Reference
  | publisher = Sports Reference LLC
  | access-date = May 30, 2024
}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rank
! Name
! Complete games
|-
| 1
| [[Justin Verlander]]
| 26
|-
|-
| 2
| [[Clayton Kershaw]]
| 25
|-
| 3
| [[Johnny Cueto]]
| 18
|-
| 4
| [[Chris Sale]]
| 16
|-
| 5
| [[Sandy Alcantara]]
| 12
|-
| 5
| [[Dallas Keuchel]]
| 12
|-
| 5
| [[Max Scherzer]]
| 12
|-
| 8
| [[Carlos Carrasco (baseball)|Carlos Carrasco]]
| 11
|-
| 9
| [[Gerrit Cole]]
| 8
|}

==Single-season leaders==

# [[Will White]]&nbsp;– 75 (1879)
# [[Charley Radbourn]]&nbsp;– 73 (1884)
# (tie) [[Pud Galvin]]&nbsp;– 72 (1883)
#<li value="3"> (tie) [[Guy Hecker]]&nbsp;– 72 (1884)
#<li value="3"> (tie) [[Jim McCormick (pitcher)|Jim McCormick]]&nbsp;– 72 (1880)
#<li value="6"> Pud Galvin&nbsp;– 71 (1884)
# (tie) [[John Clarkson]]&nbsp;–68 (1885)
#<li value="7"> (tie) John Clarkson&nbsp;– 68 (1889)
#<li value="7"> (tie) [[Tim Keefe]]&nbsp;– 68 (1883)
#<li value="10"> [[Bill Hutchison (baseball)|Bill Hutchison]]&nbsp;– 67 (1892)
# (tie) [[Jim Devlin]]&nbsp;– 66 (1876)
#<li value="11"> (tie) [[Matt Kilroy]]&nbsp;– 66 (1886)
#<li value="11"> (tie) Matt Kilroy&nbsp;–66 (1887)
#<li value="11"> (tie) [[Charley Radbourn]]&nbsp;– 66 (1883)
#<li value="11"> (tie) [[Toad Ramsey]]&nbsp;– 66 (1886)
#<li value="16"> (tie) Pud Galvin&nbsp;– 65 (1879)
#<li value="16"> (tie) Bill Hutchison&nbsp;– 65 (1890)
#<li value="16"> (tie) Jim McCormick&nbsp;–65 (1882)
#<li value="19"> [[Silver King (baseball)|Silver King]]&nbsp;– 64 (1888)
#<li value="19"> (tie) [[Tony Mullane]]&nbsp;– 64 (1884)
#<li value="19"> (tie) [[Mickey Welch]]&nbsp;– 64 (1880)
#<li value="19"> (tie) Will White&nbsp;– 64 - (1883)

All pitchers were right-handed except Matt Kilroy and Toad Ramsey. The record for complete games in a live-ball season is 36, set by [[Bob Feller]] in 1946.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/CG_leagues.shtml | title=Yearly League Leaders & Records for Complete Games }}</ref>

==Other records==

*[[Jack Taylor (20th century baseball player)|Jack Taylor]] completed 187 consecutive games he started between 1901 and 1906.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=905&pid=14017 |title=SABR's Baseball Biography Project: Jack Taylor |access-date=2009-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424225932/http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=905&pid=14017 |archive-date=2009-04-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Leon Cadore]] and [[Joe Oeschger]] share the record for the longest complete game, achieved when they pitched against each other in a 26-inning marathon that ended in a 1–1 tie on May 1, 1920.<ref>[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_gamcg.shtml Complete Games Records by Baseball Almanac<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*[[Allan Travers]] allowed 26 hits and 24 runs in a 1912 complete game, both still records.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book| author=Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts|author-link=Baseball Prospectus| title=Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong| year=2007| publisher=[[Basic Books]]| location=[[New York, New York]]| isbn=978-0-465-00547-5| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsmnfVUKJskC&q=between%20the%20numbers%20baseball%20prospectus&pg=PA75| access-date = March 5, 2011 |ref=prospectus2007}}

==See also==
*[[List of Major League Baseball records considered unbreakable]]

{{Baseball statistics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Game}}
[[Category:Pitching statistics]]
[[Category:Baseball terminology]]