In baseball statistics

Baseball statistics

Statistics play an important role in summarizing baseball performance and evaluating players in the sport.Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performing in clusters, the sport lends itself to easy record-keeping and statistics...

, games pitched (denoted by GP, or G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter

Batters Faced by Pitcher

In baseball statistics, Batters Faced by Pitcher , also known as Total Batters Faced , is the number of batters who made a plate appearance before the pitcher in a game or in a season....

, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while batting

Batting (baseball)

In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...

 or running the bases

Baserunning

In baseball, baserunning is the act of running around the bases performed by members of the team at bat.In general, baserunning is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run. In fact, the goal of batting is generally to produce baserunners, or help move...

 in the top of the first inning, before the opposing team comes to bat. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, usually to refer to the number of games a relief pitcher

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 has pitched in.

1000-games-pitched club

Listed are all Major League Baseball players with at least 1000 games pitched. Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer...

 became the latest player to reach the milestone, pitching for the 1,000 time on May 25, 2011.

Stats updated through September 27, 2011

Key

Player	Name of the player
Appearances	Career games pitched
Years	The years this player played in the major leagues
†	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
*	Denotes pitcher who is still active

Player	Appearances	Years
	1251	1979–2003
	1178	1989–2007
	1119	1984–2005
†	1071	1975–1998
†	1070	1952–1972
	1064	1986–2003
	1058	1991–2008
	1050	1974–1989
*	1042	1995–present
	1035	1993–2010
	1022	1987–2007
	1022	1980–1997
	1010	1991–2007
	1005	1986–2004
†	1002	1972–1994