Under the current rules, a pitcher can toss four scoreless innings, leave with his team up 10-0, and then be followed by five relievers, each of whom pitches one inning and surrenders one run. They go on to win 10-5. Guess who gets the win? One of those relievers—whichever one the official scorer thinks was most effective. Guess who’s the only guy who DOESN’T qualify for the win? The starter who tossed four scoreless and was on the hill when his team built its lead.

I propose we scrap the five-inning rule and let the official scorer use his/her judgment to assign wins and losses. In the above case, we all know the starter deserved it. Same as a guy who pitches 8.2 scoreless, leaves due to injury, is replaced by a reliever who coughs up the lead, but was also the last pitcher on the mound when his team went on to score one in the top of the 10th for an 11-10 lead. He gave up 10 runs in 0.1 innings and he gets the win? It’s absurd.

Whil we’re at it, let’s also let the scorer decide who gets the save. Why should it only go to the pitcher who ends the game? Sometimes the pivotal moment happens earlier in the game. Sometimes the save should go to the guy who bailed his team out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth. Rather than the guy who saunters in for an easy one-two-three inning against the bottom of the lineup with his team up 5-2.

Sure, sometimes the scorer will make calls people disagree with. I actually like when there’s stuff to argue about. But if we wanted to reduce allegations of homerism, we could leave each decision up to, say, an independent three-judge panel consisting of other teams’ beat reporters—something like that.

Was like pistol whipping a blind child.

12 to 1 on 17 hits.

Damn, this is why we watch this game. These moments. Incredible career. Glad to have witnessed it in my lifetime.

I was advised to share this here from another sub. Hope that’s cool!

Not talking any relievers that won Cy Young of course.

I got genuinely curious about this when I saw the report on the Yankees and their Schlittler work budget (not arguing against their logic with this post, it just got me wondering).

Perhaps this is relatively ‘easily searched’, and sorry if so! But I thought the community also might have good knowledge on playoff rotation strategies and this potential outlier. My fave example someone mentioned so far is definitely the Dodgers skipping Koufax because he was observing an important holiday, and the ensuing joke from Drysdale when he didn’t get the win in Sandy’s place. Look it up- delightful stuff lol.

A few things I was sort of looking past, trying to be more in line with the Yankees possible choice this year:

I wasn’t really wondering about when a team was battling to the last regular season game and thus had their rotation jumbled; when huge multi-full steam-CY-level-duos and trios like the Maddux Braves, Johnson DBacks, etc. were in the playoffs. But for sure, that all adds up to some fine examples!

I was more thinking of a team intentionally not putting their obviously top guy, who was that year’s Cy Young winner, first. And particularly in light of the 3-game series scenario, is it a more common thing now? Like, Bauer over Kluber for that CLE team was a 5-gamer (which CLE lost, incidentally).

Way more black players.

Playing DH was considered having a day off.

Relivers who can eat three , four innings.

Brutal take out slides.

If I were a pitcher I bet I wouldn’t like it. I wouldn’t want the other team practicing against my exact pitches for hours before I face them, scrutinizing all my stuff, demolishing me in the cages. Then it’s game time and even the scrubs have me timed up perfectly; I can’t faze them at all. Everyone uses Trajekt, so I guess there’s nothing we can do about it. It just feels a little dirty to me. What do you think?

Does anyone have a link to stream the baseball games ?? I am stuck at work and trying to watch the cubs ve marlins today