Inbaseball 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.[1] 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.[2] He did not face a batter, but was credited with an appearance because he had been announced as a substitute.[3] Yount never appeared in (or actually played in) any other MLB game.
Listed below are all MLB players with at least 1,000 games pitched.[4] The first player to reach the mark was Hoyt Wilhelm, in May 1970.[5] LaTroy Hawkins is the most recent player to reach the mark, having achieved it in September 2014.[6] As of April 2023[update], no active player has reached the milestone; Kenley Jansen leads active players, with over 770 games pitched.[4]
| Pitcher | Name of the pitcher |
|---|---|
| Appearances | Career games pitched in MLB |
| MLB seasons | The seasons the pitcher played in the major leagues |
| † | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
| ‡ | Denotes a pitcher who is still active |
| Pitcher | Appearances | MLB seasons | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Last | ||
| Jesse Orosco | 1,252 | 1979 | 2003 |
| Mike Stanton | 1,178 | 1989 | 2007 |
| John Franco | 1,119 | 1984 | 2005 |
| Mariano Rivera† | 1,115 | 1995 | 2013 |
| Dennis Eckersley† | 1,071 | 1975 | 1998 |
| Hoyt Wilhelm† | 1,070 | 1952 | 1972 |
| Dan Plesac | 1,064 | 1986 | 2003 |
| Mike Timlin | 1,058 | 1991 | 2008 |
| Kent Tekulve | 1,050 | 1974 | 1989 |
| LaTroy Hawkins | 1,042 | 1995 | 2015 |
| Trevor Hoffman† | 1,035 | 1993 | 2010 |
| José Mesa | 1,022 | 1987 | 2007 |
| Lee Smith† | 1,022 | 1980 | 1997 |
| Roberto Hernández | 1,010 | 1991 | 2007 |
| Mike Jackson | 1,005 | 1986 | 2004 |
| Goose Gossage† | 1,002 | 1972 | 1994 |
