In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of games a relief pitcher has pitched in.
Normally, a pitcher must face at least one batter (or three batters in some relief situations), but exceptions are made in the case of injury.[1] A notable example was Larry Yount, who suffered an injury while throwing warmup pitches after being summoned as a reliever in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game on September 15, 1971.[2] He did not face a batter, but was credited with an appearance because he had been announced as a substitute.[3] Yount never appeared in (or actually played in) any other MLB game.
Major League Baseball career leaders
Listed below are all MLB players with at least 1,000 games pitched.[4] The first player to reach the mark was Hoyt Wilhelm, in May 1970.[5]LaTroy Hawkins is the most recent player to reach the mark, having achieved it in September 2014.[6] As of April 2023[update], no active player has reached the milestone; Kenley Jansen leads active players, with over 770 games pitched.[4]
Key
Pitcher
Name of the pitcher
Appearances
Career games pitched in MLB
MLB seasons
The seasons the pitcher played in the major leagues