Talk:Opener (baseball)

Attribution

Content from Relief_pitcher#Current_relief_roles, specifically this version, was used to spin out this page. – Muboshgu (talk) 22:12, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

I used the oldid from that page, but it doesn't seem to be working... Yoninah (talk) 22:19, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

I tweaked and fixed it.—Bagumba (talk) 12:33, 4 October 2018 (UTC)

Definition

Although I appreciate that currently pitchers who fill the relief role are being used as openers, I don't feel this is an essential part of the definition of an opener. Nor do I feel the type of pitcher used afterwards is key to the definition. Thus I suggest modifying the first sentence to something like this:

In baseball, an opening pitcher, more frequently referred to as a opener, is a pitcher who specializes in getting the first outs in a game, before being replaced by another pitcher, often a long reliever or pitcher who would typically be a starting pitcher.

What does everyone think? On another note, I'm pretty sure Bill James and other sabermetricians discussed this concept prior to 2013, though perhaps not using the term "opener". I'd have to do some digging to find it as I can't recall exactly where. isaacl (talk) 14:23, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

I dont follow baseball too closely these days, but these openers have been players who normally relieve, as opposed to starters with shorter stints, aren't they? If so, I think it should specify that they normally relieve, until such time that "starters" are also used.—Bagumba (talk) 14:55, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

I think it ought to be noted, but I don't think it should be included in the definition in the first sentence, because it's not a defining characteristic of the opener role. Should openers become a fixture in the game, that would become their primary role, which isn't in relief of an earlier pitcher. isaacl (talk) 15:27, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Is this source of any interest?

This 2017 paper discusses a "first-batter strategy". Yoninah (talk) 22:31, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

Opener used back in 1924

The Washington Post article cited in footnote 24 discusses the Washington Senators using their starting pitcher, Curly Ogden, in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series for only two batters and then introducing a left-handed pitcher, with the intent of locking the opposing team into their right-handed lineup. I think this belongs under the history, though it's way earlier than the 1990s that this section begins with. Yoninah (talk) 00:35, 26 October 2018 (UTC)

Put it in the beginning, before the 1990s. At some point, we can borrow text from relief pitcher and have brief background on when starters began being substitutued.—Bagumba (talk) 08:20, 26 October 2018 (UTC)

2018 and 2019

Why are these two seasons highlighted? Unless there's something particularly unique about the use of openers in these seasons, we should remove them as arbitrary. ZimZalaBim ^talk 18:37, 29 June 2022 (UTC)