Sitting in an MLB dugout you might hear a bench coach turn to the manager this season in the sixth inning of a game and say: “We have the heart of their order coming up in the seventh. Their three-hole hitter has hit a couple gappers in the first two games of the series. Remember that two-bagger yesterday. Let’s get our closer ready now. It’s a good pocket for him.” Say what, Coach?! I’m sure you know most of that baseball terminology, but what is a pocket? It’s the new 2023 baseball term. A pocket is basically that part of the opponent’s batting order that is likely to be a run-producer if you don’t get one of your high-leverage relievers in the game now, such as your closer or top set-up guy.
The history of relief pitchers in the MLB is a fascinating one. In the early days, teams could not substitute players except for illness or injury. The first known relief pitcher is Firpo Marberry, who had 364 relief appearances in his thirteen year career spanning 1923 to 1935. The first baseball term for a reliever was a “fireman”, someone who put out fires. Some early firemen were Hoyt Wilhelm and Elroy Face in the 1950s, who were known for throwing funky pitches like a knuckleball and a forkball. After a decade of pitchers dominating hitters in the 1960s with long outings and complete games, MLB lowered the mound in 1969 to create more offense. One other result was the advent of today’s relief pitcher.
In the 1970s MLB teams turned to closers. Every team had one. His job was to come into the game in the eighth or ninth inning (sometimes even the seventh) and shut down the other team. Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers are some of the best known in that era. Mike Marshall set the all-time record in 1974 as a closer with 208 innings pitched in 106 games. In the 1980s the number of saves outnumbered the number of complete games for the first time. Indeed, in 1995 MLB recorded four saves for every complete game. Relievers became prominent members of pitching staffs.
Relievers have historically garnered far less attention, and especially fewer awards and recognition, than starting pitchers. There are only eight relief pitchers in the Hall of Fame, with Goose Gossage, Dennis Eckersley, Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman, and Mariano Rivera, joining the previously mentioned Wilhelm, Fingers, and Sutter. All of them were closers. There are three relief pitchers who won both the MVP and Cy Young Awards in a single season – Fingers in 1981, Willie Hernandez in 1984, and Eckersley in 1992. Yet, other relievers, in particular the valuable set-up men, receive little recognition, not even slots during the MLB All-Star games where they could be used so effectively.
Over the last fifteen years pitching staffs on MLB teams have grown. Gone are the days of 9-10 pitchers on your 25-player roster. Now, 13-14 pitchers comprise a team’s 26 player roster. As pitching staffs began to grow, so did specialty relievers. Closers would only pitch the ninth. The set-up guys would get the seventh and eighth, and others would fill in some innings after the starter left the game (often having just pitched five innings). Managers would look to a top end left-handed reliever to face the opponent’s left-handed hitting slugger late in the game. In 2018, some managers even began to experiment with an “opener” – a reliever who started the game and could get through the lineup once
The 2020 season saw a major rule change for the use of relievers. Pitchers now have to face a minimum of three batters or complete the half-inning. Commissioner Manfred endorsed this rule as a boost for offense, since the game was full of 95 + mph hard-throwers dominating hitters late in the games. One downside is that managers are restricted in taking advantage of all their relievers and skill sets. It also creates a dilemma for general managers in how to best construct a roster. The left-handed reliever coming in to pitch to one batter becomes extinct. In fact, some MLB relief staffs don’t include specialty left-handers anymore. You look for top relievers who can pitch to batters from both sides of the plate.
Enter the 2023 pocket. The so-called closer of your staff is no longer saved for the ninth inning. You may never to get to a high pressure ninth if you don’t get your best reliever to face the key batters earlier in the game. Some pocket relievers in the first month of the season include the Cubs Michael Fulmer and the White Sox Reynaldo Lopez. Sox general manager Rick Hahn had this to say recently: “You may close the eighth, you may close the seventh. It depends on the game situation, but bring that same mentality every time you go out there.” The end result is that having a traditional closer isn’t so essential to the bench coach or manager in today’s game.
The best things about baseball are the little things, the nuances if you will. I remember as a little boy sitting on the front porch with my Dad listening to the Reds games and learning something every night from him and the broadcasters. Life was slower back then. I always had that pocket of time to enjoy the game and appreciate it more.
Until next Monday,
your Baseball Bench Coach