In baseball, an assist (denoted by A) is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is credited to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball (after it has been hit by the batter) before the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional. For example, if a ball strikes a player's leg and bounces off him to another fielder, who tags the baserunner, the first player is credited with an assist. A fielder can receive a maximum of one assist per out recorded. An assist is also credited if a putout would have occurred, had another fielder not committed an error. For example, a shortstop might field a ground ball cleanly, but the first baseman might drop his throw. In this case, an error would be charged to the first baseman, and the shortstop would be credited with an assist. Unlike putouts, exactly one of which is awarded for every defensive out, an out can result in no assists being credited (as in strikeouts, fly outs and line drives), or in assists being credited to multiple players (as in relay throws and rundown plays). The pitcher is the player who pitches the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, playing the most difficult and specialized position, and as such is regarded as being at the right end of the defensive spectrum. Pitchers play far less than players at other positions, generally appearing in only two or three games per week; only one pitcher in major league history has appeared in 100 games in a single season. There are many different types of pitchers, generally divided between starting pitchers and relief pitchers, which include the middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and closer. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1.
Pitchers are most commonly credited with an assist when they field a ground ball batted back toward the mound and throw the ball either to the first baseman to retire the batter/runner, or to another infielder to force out a runner, perhaps beginning a double play; of special importance are throws to the catcher if a runner is trying to reach home plate to score a run. Pitchers also earn assists on pickoff throws, by throwing to a base after catching a line drive in order to retire a runner before they can tag up, by throwing to a base to record an out on an appeal play, or in situations where they might deflect a ground ball before another defensive player successfully fields the ball. Pitchers generally record fewer assists than infielders or catchers due to the quick reaction time needed to field the ball after it is hit, as the pitcher is the closest player in front of the batter.
As strikeout totals have risen in baseball, the frequency of other defensive outs including ground outs has declined; as a result, assist totals for pitchers have likewise declined, and only one of the top 20 career leaders has been active since 1934; only five of the top 66 have been active since 1965. None of the top 87 single-season totals were recorded after 1918, and none of the top 477 have been recorded since 1944. Cy Young is the all-time leader in career assists as a pitcher with 2,014,[1] [2] [3] over 500 more than any other pitcher. Zack Greinke, who had 485 assists through the 2023 season to place him 239th all-time, is the leader among active players.
| Rank | Rank amongst leaders in career assists. A blank field indicates a tie. | |
| Player | Name of player | |
| Throws | Denotes right-handed (R) or left-handed (L) pitcher | |
| MLB | Total career assists as a pitcher in Major League Baseball | |
| Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame |
| Rank | Player | Throws | Assists as a pitcher | Other leagues, notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | American League | National League | |||||
| 1 | Cy Young | R | 2,014 | 851 | 1,163 | ||
| 2 | Christy Mathewson | R | 1,503 | 0 | 1,503 | Holds the modern National League single-season record of 141 (set in 1908) | |
| 3 | Grover Cleveland Alexander | R | 1,419 | 0 | 1,419 | ||
| 4 | Pud Galvin | R | 1,404 | 0 | 1,205 | Includes 106 in American Association, 71 in Players' League, 22 in National Association; held major league record, 1886-1903; held the National League single-season record, 1884-1885 | |
| 5 | Walter Johnson | R | 1,351 | 1,351 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Burleigh Grimes | R | 1,252 | 7 | 1,245 | ||
| 7 | George Mullin | R | 1,244 | 1,194 | 0 | Includes 50 in Federal League | |
| 8 | Jack Quinn | R | 1,240 | 971 | 67 | Includes 202 in Federal League | |
| 9 | Ed Walsh | R | 1,207 | 1,200 | 7 | Holds the single-season record of 227 (set in 1907) | |
| 10 | Eppa Rixey | L | 1,195 | 0 | 1,195 | ||
| 11 | Greg Maddux | R | 1,194 | 0 | 1,194 | ||
| 12 | John Clarkson | R | 1,143 | 0 | 1,143 | Holds the National League single-season record of 174 (set in 1885) | |
| 13 | Carl Mays | R | 1,138 | 823 | 315 | ||
| 14 | Hooks Dauss | R | 1,128 | 1,128 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Vic Willis | R | 1,124 | 0 | 1,124 | ||
| 16 | Red Faber | R | 1,108 | 1,108 | 0 | ||
| Eddie Plank | L | 1,108 | 1,050 | 0 | Includes 58 in Federal League; held record for left-handed pitchers, 1914-1931 | ||
| 18 | Tim Keefe | R | 1,060 | 0 | 764 | Includes 235 in American Association, 61 in Players' League | |
| 19 | Tony Mullane | R | 1,041 | 0 | 343 | Includes 698 in American Association | |
| 20 | Kid Nichols | R | 1,031 | 0 | 1,031 | ||
| 21 | Tommy John | L | 1,028 | 758 | 270 | ||
| 22 | Red Ames | R | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | ||
| 23 | Warren Spahn | L | 999 | 0 | 999 | ||
| 24 | Eddie Cicotte | R | 998 | 998 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Jack Powell | R | 967 | 640 | 327 | ||
| 26 | Doc White | L | 966 | 811 | 155 | ||
| 27 | Harry Howell | R | 965 | 876 | 89 | Held the American League single-season record, 1905-1907 | |
| 28 | Al Orth | R | 957 | 588 | 369 | ||
| 29 | Ted Lyons | R | 943 | 943 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Freddie Fitzsimmons | R | 942 | 0 | 942 | ||
| Charles Radbourn | R | 942 | 0 | 843 | Includes 99 in Players' League | ||
| 32 | Chick Fraser | R | 939 | 91 | 848 | ||
| 33 | Bill Doak | R | 934 | 0 | 934 | ||
| 34 | Joe McGinnity | R | 929 | 153 | 776 | Held the modern National League single-season record, 1904-1906 | |
| 35 | Jim McCormick | R | 922 | 0 | 872 | Includes 50 in Union Association | |
| 36 | Red Donahue | R | 903 | 445 | 458 | Held the American League single-season record, 1902-1904 | |
| 37 | Tommy Bond | R | 896 | 0 | 607 | Includes 229 in National Association, 55 in Union Association, 5 in American Association; held major league record, 1879-1886; held the single-season record, 1878-1882; held the National League single-season record, 1878-1884 | |
| 38 | Phil Niekro | R | 878 | 105 | 773 | ||
| 39 | Gaylord Perry | R | 877 | 353 | 524 | ||
| 40 | Sad Sam Jones | R | 874 | 874 | 0 | ||
| Amos Rusie | R | 874 | 0 | 874 | |||
| 42 | Clark Griffith | R | 863 | 265 | 548 | Includes 50 in American Association | |
| 43 | Tom Glavine | L | 856 | 0 | 856 | ||
| 44 | Howard Ehmke | R | 853 | 828 | 0 | Includes 25 in Federal League | |
| 45 | Charlie Buffinton | R | 851 | 0 | 657 | Includes 117 in American Association, 77 in Players' League | |
| Stan Coveleski | R | 851 | 851 | 0 | |||
| 47 | Lee Meadows | R | 850 | 0 | 850 | ||
| 48 | Addie Joss | R | 846 | 846 | 0 | ||
| 49 | Mordecai Brown | R | 843 | 0 | 700 | Includes 143 in Federal League | |
| 50 | Waite Hoyt | R | 842 | 640 | 202 | ||
| 51 | Jesse Tannehill | L | 840 | 430 | 410 | ||
| 52 | Bullet Joe Bush | R | 839 | 814 | 25 | ||
| 53 | Jack Chesbro | R | 836 | 649 | 187 | Held the American League single-season record, 1904-1905 | |
| 54 | Carl Hubbell | L | 824 | 0 | 824 | ||
| Herb Pennock | L | 824 | 824 | 0 | |||
| 56 | Ed Reulbach | R | 814 | 0 | 724 | Includes 90 in Federal League | |
| 57 | Eddie Rommel | R | 810 | 810 | 0 | ||
| 58 | Charles Bender | R | 808 | 702 | 61 | Includes 45 in Federal League | |
| 59 | Bill Dinneen | R | 800 | 513 | 287 | ||
| 60 | Bobby Mathews | R | 791 | 0 | 187 | Includes 339 in National Association, 265 in American Association | |
| 61 | Dolf Luque | R | 786 | 0 | 786 | ||
| 62 | Wilbur Cooper | L | 785 | 4 | 781 | ||
| 63 | Frank Smith | R | 782 | 606 | 69 | Includes 107 in Federal League | |
| 64 | Tom Zachary | L | 773 | 547 | 226 | ||
| 65 | Brickyard Kennedy | R | 769 | 0 | 769 | ||
| Jim Whitney | R | 769 | 0 | 761 | Includes 8 in American Association | ||
| 67 | Dennis Martínez | R | 763 | 438 | 325 | ||
| 68 | Willie Sudhoff | R | 762 | 399 | 363 | ||
| 69 | Art Nehf | L | 749 | 0 | 749 | ||
| 70 | Jesse Barnes | R | 748 | 0 | 748 | ||
| 71 | Bucky Walters | R | 746 | 0 | 746 | ||
| 72 | Gus Weyhing | R | 745 | 3 | 365 | Includes 322 in American Association, 55 in Players' League | |
| 73 | Jim Kaat | L | 744 | 641 | 103 | ||
| 74 | Kenny Rogers | L | 743 | 724 | 19 | ||
| 75 | Hippo Vaughn | L | 740 | 169 | 571 | ||
| Rube Waddell | L | 740 | 607 | 133 | |||
| 77 | Jack Taylor | R | 738 | 0 | 738 | ||
| 78 | Mel Harder | R | 734 | 734 | 0 | ||
| Willis Hudlin | R | 734 | 732 | 2 | |||
| 80 | Cy Falkenberg | R | 728 | 523 | 21 | Includes 184 in Federal League | |
| 81 | Steve Carlton | L | 724 | 31 | 693 | ||
| Claude Hendrix | R | 724 | 0 | 518 | Includes 206 in Federal League | ||
| 83 | Lefty Grove | L | 722 | 722 | 0 | ||
| Adonis Terry | R | 722 | 0 | 350 | Includes 372 in American Association | ||
| 85 | Dutch Leonard | R | 719 | 417 | 302 | ||
| 86 | Will White | R | 715 | 0 | 274 | Includes 441 in American Association; held the single-season record, 1882-1907 | |
| 87 | Bob Lemon | R | 709 | 709 | 0 | ||
| 88 | Mickey Welch | R | 705 | 0 | 705 | ||
| 89 | Earl Whitehill | L | 701 | 687 | 14 | ||
| 90 | Claude Osteen | L | 699 | 155 | 544 | ||
| 91 | Rube Marquard | L | 697 | 0 | 697 | ||
| Bob Shawkey | R | 697 | 697 | 0 | |||
| 93 | Ed Willett | R | 695 | 602 | 0 | Includes 93 in Federal League | |
| 94 | Theodore Breitenstein | L | 692 | 0 | 690 | Includes 2 in American Association | |
| Tom Seaver | R | 692 | 99 | 593 | |||
| 96 | Pink Hawley | R | 688 | 55 | 633 | ||
| 97 | Don Drysdale | R | 686 | 0 | 686 | ||
| Sherry Smith | L | 686 | 255 | 431 | |||
| 99 | Bob Groom | R | 682 | 545 | 0 | Includes 137 in Federal League | |
| 100 | Rube Benton | L | 680 | 0 | 680 | ||
| Player | Throws | Assists as a pitcher | Other leagues, notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | American League | National League | ||||
| Red Ruffing | R | 677 | 677 | 0 | ||
| Early Wynn | R | 670 | 670 | 0 | ||
| Bert Blyleven | R | 662 | 571 | 91 | ||
| Ferguson Jenkins | R | 660 | 265 | 395 | ||
| Jesse Haines | R | 651 | 0 | 651 | ||
| Albert Spalding | R | 648 | 0 | 98 | Includes 550 in National Association | |
| Whitey Ford | L | 630 | 630 | 0 | ||
| Don Sutton | R | 613 | 114 | 499 | ||
| Hal Newhouser | L | 611 | 611 | 0 | ||
| Robin Roberts | R | 601 | 94 | 507 | ||
| Juan Marichal | R | 577 | 8 | 569 | ||
| Jim Palmer | R | 577 | 577 | 0 | ||
| John Montgomery Ward | R | 574 | 0 | 574 | ||
| Dazzy Vance | R | 570 | 7 | 563 | ||
| Nolan Ryan | R | 547 | 319 | 228 | ||
| Bob Feller | R | 510 | 510 | 0 | ||
| Mike Mussina | R | 497 | 497 | 0 | ||
| Bob Gibson | R | 484 | 0 | 484 | ||
| Randy Johnson | L | 448 | 271 | 177 | ||
| John Smoltz | R | 433 | 7 | 426 | ||
| Jack Morris | R | 413 | 413 | 0 | ||
| Bullet Rogan | R | 410 | 0 | 0 | Includes 408 in Negro National League (first), 2 in Negro American League (incomplete) | |
| Lefty Gomez | L | 393 | 393 | 0 | ||
| Roy Halladay | R | 390 | 293 | 97 | ||
| Hoyt Wilhelm | R | 373 | 215 | 158 | ||
| Jim Bunning | R | 372 | 163 | 209 | ||
| Dennis Eckersley | R | 365 | 273 | 92 | ||
| Andy Cooper | L | 359 | 0 | 0 | Includes 341 in Negro National League (first), 18 in Negro American League (incomplete) | |
| Babe Ruth | L | 354 | 354 | 0 | ||
| Hank O'Day | R | 333 | 0 | 159 | Includes 103 in American Association, 71 in Players' League | |
| Ray Brown | R | 321 | 0 | 0 | Includes 243 in Negro National League (second), 47 in East–West League, 31 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete) | |
| Candy Cummings | R | 319 | 0 | 58 | Includes 261 in National Association | |
| Catfish Hunter | R | 319 | 319 | 0 | ||
| Dizzy Dean | R | 283 | 0 | 283 | ||
| Pedro Martínez | R | 263 | 118 | 145 | ||
| Mariano Rivera | R | 258 | 258 | 0 | ||
| Rollie Fingers | R | 253 | 202 | 51 | ||
| Satchel Paige | R | 236 | 62 | 0 | Includes 74 in Negro American League, 61 in Negro National League (second), 39 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete) | |
| Bill Foster | L | 234 | 0 | 0 | Includes 140 in Negro National League (first), 65 in Negro National League (second), 29 in Negro American League (incomplete) | |
| Sandy Koufax | L | 228 | 0 | 228 | ||
| Rich Gossage | R | 180 | 135 | 45 | ||
| Hilton Smith | R | 176 | 0 | 0 | Includes 176 in Negro American League (incomplete) | |
| Bruce Sutter | R | 145 | 0 | 145 | ||
| José Méndez | R | 124 | 0 | 0 | Includes 124 in Negro National League (first) (incomplete) | |
| Lee Smith | R | 111 | 14 | 97 | ||
| Leon Day | R | 103 | 0 | 0 | Includes 103 in Negro National League (second) (incomplete) | |
| Trevor Hoffman | R | 83 | 0 | 83 | ||
| Martín Dihigo | R | 54 | 0 | 0 | Includes 26 in Negro National League (second), 15 in Eastern Colored League, 13 in American Negro League (incomplete) | |
| Smokey Joe Williams | R | 49 | 0 | 0 | Includes 34 in the American Negro League, 15 in East-West League (incomplete) | |
| Tommy Lasorda | L | 10 | 9 | 1 | ||