In baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, a setup pitcher (or set-up pitcher, sometimes called the setup man) is a relief pitcher

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 who regularly pitches before the closer

Closer (baseball)

In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...

. They commonly pitch the 7th and/or 8th innings, with the closer pitching the 9th.

The concept of a team having a defined setup pitcher is a relatively new one which has been aided by the addition of the statistical category of hold

Hold (baseball)

A hold is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions:Unlike saves, wins, and losses, more than one pitcher per team can earn a hold for a game, though it is not possible for a pitcher to receive more than one hold in a given game...

s. The role, however, remains a flexible and sometimes ill-defined one. Setup pitchers, unlike closers, commonly appear in games where their team is tied or even behind, making the designation of setup pitcher representative of only a certain number - perhaps under half - of the pitcher's appearances within a season. However, it is fairly common for a young setup man that achieves success to be moved to the closer role. Conversely, closers who are ineffective or aging may be moved into the role of a setup pitcher.

Accolades for setup men are few and far between; occasionally they will be selected to the All-Star Team (Brendan Donnelly

Brendan Donnelly

Brendan Kevin Donnelly is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He bats and throws right-handed.-Career:Donnelly was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 27th round of the 1992 amateur draft...

, Hideki Okajima

Hideki Okajima

is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox organization in the United States, currently with their AAA affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox. He played with the Yomiuri Giants and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league from 1994-2006...

, Carlos Mármol

Carlos Marmol

Carlos Agustín Mármol is a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.-Minor league career:Mármol started his career as a catcher/outfielder...

, Mike Stanton, David Robertson

David Robertson (baseball)

David Alan Robertson is a Major League baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.-High school career:Robertson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and played his first three years at Central-Tuscaloosa High School. He was a 2-year starter for the Falcons at shortstop and pitcher...

 and Hong-Chih Kuo

Hong-Chih Kuo

Hong-Chih Kuo is a Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. When Kuo made his debut in , he became the fourth MLB player from Taiwan ....

, for instance) or receive votes for the Cy Young Award

Cy Young Award

The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...

 or MVP (Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer...

 finished 3rd in the AL Cy Young voting in 1996). Francisco Rodriguez, who was a setup pitcher for the Anaheim Angels in 2002, tied starting pitcher Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson

Randall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....

's record for wins in a single postseason. His fifth postseason win that year, which is the most for a relief pitcher, was against the San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 in Game 2 of the 2002 World Series

2002 World Series

The 2002 World Series was a best-of-seven playoff series to determine the champion of Major League Baseball for the 2002 season. It was the 98th such contest between the champions of the American League and National League , and featured the AL champion Anaheim Angels against the NL champion San...

.

Though setup men typically do not get as many saves as closers, they can get around the same number of wins

Win (baseball)

In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

; they also qualify for a statistic known as a hold

Hold (baseball)

A hold is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions:Unlike saves, wins, and losses, more than one pitcher per team can earn a hold for a game, though it is not possible for a pitcher to receive more than one hold in a given game...

.

Teams commonly have a right-handed and a left-handed setup pitcher in their bullpen

Bullpen

In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...

s.