In baseball, a save is a statistic credited to a relief pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances). The save rule was first adopted for the 1969 season and amended for the 1974 and 1975 seasons. The current definition of a save has been in place since 1975 and is set forth in Rule 9.19 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball). According to this rule, the official scorer shall credit a pitcher with a save when such pitcher meets all four of the following conditions:

• He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his team;

• He is not the winning pitcher;

• He is credited with at least ⅓ of an inning pitched; and

• He satisfies one of the following conditions:

  • He enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches at least one inning.
  • He enters the game with the tying run in the on-deck circle, at the plate, or on base.
  • He pitches at least three innings.

A pitcher cannot receive a save and a win in the same game. A save opportunity occurs every time a relief pitcher either records a save or a blown save. In order for any of those three to occur, a pitcher must first have a save opportunity. Typically, closers will receive the most save opportunities during the course of a season because their role is to maintain leads at the end of games.

In summary, a save is a statistic credited to a relief pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The current definition of a save has been in place since 1975 and is set forth in Rule 9.19 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball. A pitcher cannot receive a save and a win in the same game.