I have remarked to Barb a couple of times over the past couple of months about how meaningless is the w-l record for relievers in baseball. I’ve commented on how the win – awarded in baseball for the pitcher who is in the game when the winning run is scored – is, especially for a reliever, much more a matter of luck and timing than it is pitching performance.
But I never imagined this.
Last night, the Colorado Rockies put in a reliever, Alan Embree, with two outs in the eighth and a man on first. Before he threw a pitch, he picked off the runner at first to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the Rockies scored a go-ahead run, and Embree was replaced for a pinch hitter. But since he was the pitcher of record when the run was scored, he got credit for the win, though he never pitched a single pitch.
Got to love this crazy game.