In a game of baseball, the starting pitcher, or now more commonly known these days as just the starter, is the pitcher who delivers the first ball of the game, the pitch, to the first hitter. This is by far the most euphoric part of a baseball game. Any subsequent pitcher who then pitches during that current game is known as the relief pitcher, or relief. When talking of pitchers, they are often just referred to as simply the relief or the starters.
Understanding starting pitchers is extremely important to understanding the game of baseball. The starting pitcher is seen as one of the most important baseball team players and is pivotal to the success of not just the game but the entire series. It is always preferable that the starting pitcher pitch as many innings as he can. This is usually not less than five innings. This is because a starting pitcher must complete not less than five innings in order to qualify for a win in a game of baseball that he commenced in. If a starting pitcher is unable to pitch at least five innings, then he will unfortunately be relegated to what it known as the bullpen.
Most Major League Baseball teams have at least five starting pitchers, due to the fact that a starting pitcher usually has to rest for at least four days after pitching a game to avoid injury. The starting pitchers work on a rotation basis, allowing each other starting pitcher to get ample rest between games.
Different starting pitchers have different pitching styles, from a curve ball, fastball and breaking pitch. Other well known styles also include the change-up and the slider. There are several well known starting pitchers who have made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame, notably, Tom Seaver, Whitey Ford, Steve Carlton and Nolan Ryan.
