Setup man

In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth.[1][2]

George Sherrill has been a setup man for the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Dodgers

As closers were reduced to one-inning specialists, setup men became more prominent.[3] Setup pitchers often come into the game with the team losing or the game tied.[4] They are usually the second best relief pitcher on a team, behind the closer. After closers became one-inning pitchers, primarily in the ninth inning, setup pitchers became more highly valued.[5] A pitcher who succeeds in this role is often promoted to a closer.[6] Setup men are paid less than closers and mostly make less than the average Major League salary.[7]

The most common statistic used to evaluate relievers is the save. Due to the definition of the statistic, setup men are rarely in position to record a save even if they pitch well, but they can be charged with a blown save if they pitch poorly. The hold statistic was developed to help acknowledge a setup man's effectiveness,[8] but it is not an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic.

Historically, setup men were rarely selected to MLB All-Star Games, with the nod usually going to closers with large save totals.[9] From 1971 through 2000, only six relievers with fewer than five saves at midseason were selected as All-Stars. There were 10 such players from 2001 through 2009.[10] In 2015, the majority of the American League's All-Star relievers were not closers, outnumbered 4–3.[11] Setup men who have been named All-Stars multiple times include Justin Duchscherer, Tyler Clippard,[12] Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller.[13]

Francisco Rodriguez, who was a setup pitcher for the Anaheim Angels in 2002,[14] tied starting pitcher Randy Johnson's Major League Baseball record for wins in a single postseason after recording his fifth victory in the 2002 World Series.[15]

Tim McCarver wrote that the New York Yankees in 1996 "revolutionized baseball" with Mariano Rivera, "a middle reliever who should have been on the All-Star team and who was a legitimate MVP candidate."[16] He finished third in the voting for the American League (AL) Cy Young Award,[17] the highest a setup man has finished. That season, Rivera primarily served as a setup pitcher for closer John Wetteland, typically pitching in the seventh and eighth inning of games before Wetteland pitched in the ninth. Their effectiveness gave the Yankees a 70–3 win–loss record that season when leading after six innings.[18] McCarver said the Yankees played "six-inning games" that year, with Rivera dominating for two innings and Wetteland closing out the victory.[16]

Illustrating the general trend, both Rivera and Rodriguez were moved to closer soon after excelling as setup men. On January 22, 2019, Rivera became the first unanimously elected baseball hall-of-famer having been inducted his first eligible year on the ballot.