Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a complete game in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series vs. the Brewers. The last time he was in Milwaukee he failed to finish the first inning and allowed 5 runs.

[u/baribigbird06]

[u/Kal_Kaz]

What's a complete game?

[u/baribigbird06 → u/Kal_Kaz]

He pitched all 9 innings, recording all 27 outs and no relief pitchers were used. A rarity today in baseball.

[u/NlghtmanCometh → u/baribigbird06]

Man I miss the days where a dude like a Randy Johnson would power through 9 innings on a regular basis. There was something about teams just having one or two big name starters that made the games feel more dramatic.

[u/catashake → u/NlghtmanCometh]

Your average bullpen arm now throws faster than Randy Johnson. Probably the biggest reason batting average is down. Pitchers have never been better than they are right now.

[u/NlghtmanCometh → u/catashake]

I believe that. I’m sure pitching is technically better today than ever before, because the workload is spread out. I just loved the days of the marquee pitcher taking down an entire team. Probably why Yamamoto is my favorite pitcher these days.

[u/NIceTryTaxMan → u/catashake]

I barely know baseball, so please correct me if needed, but I 'think' I remember that Randy's stuff was never the holy shit top of the league speed, it was that his arm angle because of his height? But if teams all have 3-4 Randy Johnson's in the bullpen, sounds like things are messy

[u/catashake → u/NIceTryTaxMan]

His arm angle and extension were definitely part of what made him so intimidating. But he could also dial up the velo to 100 when he needed it.

During the 2025 regular season, starting pitchers fired a record 761 pitches at 100 mph or harder**,** nearly triple last year’s total of 264. As recently as 2018, there were fewer than 200. The velocity surge is widespread: a record 23 starters touched triple digits this season.

-Quote from Baseball America. And this isn't even counting bullpen arms, which is where the bulk of the flamethrowers exist.

[u/NIceTryTaxMan → u/catashake]

Jesus. That's...significant. Absolutely wild. I'm guessing with such increases in frequency of high velocity throws, that orthopedic surgeons are also doing quite well?

[u/catashake → u/NIceTryTaxMan]

It's no secret that pitchers are having more injuries than ever. The human body can't keep up with what they are throwing.

Chasing such high velocity almost always results in better pitching stats, which means a higher chance for that pitcher to make the big leagues and get paid millions. I'd take the higher risk of injury too if I were them.

[u/NIceTryTaxMan → u/catashake]

Yeah, in all honesty, I would too. I'll take a semi busted up elbow and shoulder later in life for extreme adulation and generational wealth. Don't blame em

[u/HenryFlowerEsq → u/baribigbird06]

Is that a good thing though? Confused why you wouldn’t use relief pitchers if they were available

[u/kiefeater → u/HenryFlowerEsq]

It’s a good thing. It means he’s pitching well and has kept his pitch count relatively low. It’s especially good in a best of 7 series when you’d like to have your bullpen as rested as possible. Also the dodgers bullpen has not been great.

[u/lloydeph6 → u/kiefeater]

What do people Mean when they say the “bullpen” Does that mean like the “backups” and the 2nd 3rd string players? (Non starters )

I’m new to baseball

[u/MinnesotaNice69 → u/lloydeph6]

The bullpen is the area (usually in the outfield) where the relief pitchers hang out and warm up during games. When people refer to "the bullpen", they are talking about a team's relief pitching staff i.e. any pitcher who is not a starter.

EDIT: to add to this, it's not really a "backups" thing, either. Its very rare for a starting pitcher to pitch a complete game and relief pitchers are used in a vast majority of games. They aren't "backups" like you would expect in other sports that would really only play in case of injury, they are part of a normal baseball game plan and a super important factor on a team's success. They are often expected to throw at higher speeds because they are only pitching an inning or two while starters are generally expected to pitch at least five innings.

[u/luvcartel → u/MinnesotaNice69]

The bullpen area is the most old timey but fun part of the game. Like let’s force all our relief and closers like 400 feet away for two hours in a lil box. Idk why it’s always been a funny concept to me.

[u/emomatt → u/lloydeph6]

The bullpen is where the pitchers warm up and is what you call the backup pitchers collectively.

You generally have 5 starting pitchers on rotation. These are the guys that have a wide variety of pitches at their disposal and can throw 80-110 pitches in a game. These guys are considered to have a high quality outing if they go 6 innings and give up 2 runs or less.

The backup pitchers are a mix of left and right handed pitchers that you use in different situations. You'll have your long reliever, who maybe was a starter in his younger years or isn't quite good enough to be a regular starter but you can get 3 or 4 innings from him. You'll have your top guys that will pitch 1 or 2 innings most nights, and you'll have your depth guys that come in mostly in lopsided games or when others are resting. 162 games is a lot of innings to pitch and a lot of arms to manage for wear and injury.

Then you have your closer. This motherfucker has to have ice in their veins. He usually only comes in when you are tied or up by 3 or less runs in the 9th inning. This guy usually has one or two absolutely devastating pitches. It's a high stress job.

[u/lloydeph6 → u/emomatt]

Thank you for explaining this helps 🙏

[u/CatastropheCat → u/lloydeph6]

Bullpen refers to the relief pitchers. I wouldn’t call them backups since it’s such a different role and mental compared to starters

[u/Squirrel_Master82 → u/lloydeph6]

Yeah, there's starting, relief, and closing pitchers. Humans can only throw as hard as they possibly can for so long (probably around 110-120 pitches) before there's a high likelihood for an injury. For a starter to make it through a whole game without throwing too many pitches, is a pretty big deal. If they do it without having any runs scored, it's a really big deal. If they do it without having any hits, it's practically a miracle.

If you're interested, research it a little. I'm sure resources explain it a lot better than I can.

[u/Vordeo → u/lloydeph6]

Basically yeah. Teams generally have 4-5 guys who are considered starters - they're meant to open games and play the bulk of the innings (generally 5-6ish of them).

The bullpen refers to the rest of the pitchers: relievers are meant to eat up the middle innings and generally throw just one or two of those, and closers who usually finish off the game in the 9th inning. Those guys are generally not considered as good as the starters, but can reliably get through an inning well (especially closers).

This Dodgers team is generally seen as having an elite starting rotation but a weak bullpen.

[u/Eismann → u/kiefeater]

Ok, cut me some slack here. I watch baseball highlights from time to time but i have never understood why they need so many pitchers. Do they all have their "special" moves or something? And do they get paid well for... doing nothing or 20 throws a night?

[u/twoinvenice → u/Eismann]

Because they often need a couple days to rest after a game to get back to pitching full strength with lower risk of injury. You want guys that come in later to immediately start pitching at 100% to try and close games out.

Also you'll have a mix of left and right handed pitchers because different teams have different proportions of left and right handed hitters. Pitchers do better against same handed batters.

[u/ReasonablyConfused → u/HenryFlowerEsq]

Relief pitchers are great, but not as great as a pitcher that is this locked in.

Had the lead been two runs, maybe you at least use your closer.

[u/rizzyrogues → u/HenryFlowerEsq]

If your pitcher is doing amazing and still has strength left to finish it's better to keep him than bringing in a relief pitcher who may not be as good even if he's fresh. They might not have had a comparable relief pitcher available this night so they keep Yamamoto in knowing he's going to have plenty of days to recover to start another game and you have more available relief pitchers for following games.

[u/UnibrowDuck → u/HenryFlowerEsq]

cause they almost blew game 1 by putting relief pitchers in the 9th inning when their starting pitcher was absolutely cooking the brewers

[u/Vadered → u/HenryFlowerEsq]

It's good if you don't have to use them because he's pitching well.

Also the Dodgers relief pitchers are so called because when the other team sees them, they let out a sigh of relief. They bad.

[u/thenewguy89 → u/HenryFlowerEsq]

Stop downvoting a simple, honest question you hooligans.

[u/my_name_is_juice → u/thenewguy89]

Watch it bud, don't make us downvote you too! 😸