Slamming the door: the art of the save

It's the bottom of the ninth inning, and the baseball team is clinging to a tenuous 3-2 lead. The pressure is heavy on the Tigers, and, like so many times before, they rest the game in the hands of senior pitcher Brian Kappel, the team's closer. Kappel comes in and coolly strikes out the side, earning the Tigers the win and earning himself a save.

But what exactly is a save? Most casual baseball fans know that it is usually earned by a closer who finishes a game and protects the lead of another pitcher. Many, however, are unclear of the specific criteria.

According to the rules of Major League Baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher under three circumstances:

First, if he enters the game with a lead of three runs or less and pitches for one inning or more.

Second, if he enters the game and the potential tying run is either on base, at bat or on deck.

Third, if he pitches the final three or more innings of the game regardless of the size of the lead.

Also, the pitcher must be the last in the game for the team, and he cannot be the winning pitcher.

Should a pitcher in a save situation give up the lead — whether or not his team ends up losing the game — he is charged with a blown save.

The save statistic was first officially kept by Major League Baseball in 1969. At that time most relief pitchers, including closers, would pitch for multiple innings in order to earn their saves.

It was not until the 1980s, with pitchers such as Dennis Eckersly, of the Oakland Athletics when the modern concept of a closer emerged. Now, the vast majority of closers pitch only the ninth inning.

Since they play such a specialized role, closers need to have pitching abilities vastly different from those of starters. Skills such as pitch variety and minimizing arm fatigue are not factors for closers. Most closers come into the game firing fastballs, sometimes approaching 100 miles per hour, perhaps mixed in with only one or two off-speed pitches, such as a curveball, slider or change-up.

Closers have to be immune to the enormous pressure of the situation in which they enter the game, and they have little to no margin of error.

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Premiere closers, such as the Yankees' Mariano Rivera or the Red Sox' Keith Foulke, have proven themselves in these situations and have meant the difference between a win and a loss in crucial playoff games.

Princeton closers

In recent years the Tigers have been blessed with a plethora of talent at the closer position.

Kappel currently holds this role and is looking to continue the enormous success he met with last season.

In his first season as the team's closer, Kappel appeared in 24 games and earned nine saves, tying the team record. He led the pitching staff with a 3.19 earned run average and struck out 42 while walking only six in 36.2 innings of work. He also posted a 3-2 record.

Like most good closers, Kappel came through for the Tigers in the most crucial moments. In the first game of the Ivy League Championship series against Dartmouth last season, he pitched two scoreless innings to earn the save, before earning the win in the second game. He also saved Princeton's 4-2 victory over Virginia in the NCAA Regionals last June.

Kappel earned numerous accolades for his performance, including a unanimous first team all-Ivy selection and the state Reliever of the Year award.

This season Kappel has one save in as many opportunities and three appearances.

In 2003, Thomas Pauley '04 manned the closer position with similar results to Kappel. He went 6-2 with a 1.46 ERA. He had six saves and struck out 72 in 55.1 innings. He also was named first team all-Ivy and state Pitcher of the Year.

After his successful junior season, he was selected in the second round of the Major League Draft (51st pick overall) by the Cincinatti Reds with whom he signed, forgoing his senior year of eligibility.

Following Pauley and Kappel will certainly be a tough act, but one that no Tiger will have to worry about this season.

For now, the Tigers will continue to breathe relatively easily when they enter the ninth inning with a lead.