Games pitched
Baseball statistic
title: "Games pitched" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["pitching-statistics"] description: "Baseball statistic" topic_path: "science/mathematics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Games_pitched" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Baseball statistic ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Jesse_orosco.jpg" caption="[[Jesse Orosco]] is the career leader in games pitched among [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) players."] ::
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. 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. He did not face a batter, but was credited with an appearance because he had been announced as a substitute. 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. The first player to reach the mark was Hoyt Wilhelm, in May 1970. LaTroy Hawkins is the most recent player to reach the mark, having achieved it in September 2014. , no active player has reached the milestone; Kenley Jansen leads active players, with over 870 games pitched.
::data[format=table title="Key"]
| Pitcher | Appearances | MLB seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Name of the pitcher | ||
| Career games pitched in MLB | ||
| The seasons the pitcher played in the major leagues | ||
| Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
| Denotes a pitcher who is still active | ||
| :: |
::data[format=table title="Players with 1,000 or more games pitched"]
| Pitcher | Appearances | MLB seasons | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,252 | 1979 | 2003 | ||
| 1,178 | 1989 | 2007 | ||
| 1,119 | 1984 | 2005 | ||
| 1,115 | 1995 | 2013 | ||
| 1,071 | 1975 | 1998 | ||
| 1,070 | 1952 | 1972 | ||
| 1,064 | 1986 | 2003 | ||
| 1,058 | 1991 | 2008 | ||
| 1,050 | 1974 | 1989 | ||
| 1,042 | 1995 | 2015 | ||
| 1,035 | 1993 | 2010 | ||
| 1,022 | 1987 | 2007 | ||
| 1,022 | 1980 | 1997 | ||
| 1,010 | 1991 | 2007 | ||
| 1,005 | 1986 | 2004 | ||
| 1,002 | 1972 | 1994 | ||
| :: |
References
References
- "Three Batter Minimum".
- (September 16, 1971). "Astros' Rookie in 'Brief' Stint". [[Odessa American]].
- (September 15, 1971). "Atlanta Braves 4, Houston Astros 2".
- "Career Leaders & Records for Games Played". Sports Reference LLC.
- (May 11, 1970). "Number 1,000". [[The Greenville News]].
- Baxter, Kevin. (September 28, 2014). "Dodgers enjoy a little R&R". [[Los Angeles Times]].
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