If any further evidence was needed that a pitcher’s “wins” don’t mean much, the Cy Young award that went to Paul Skenes (10-10) in November 2025 provided it. He matched Jacob deGrom’s victory total in 2018 as the lowest ever by a winner who wasn’t a closer.
Fans have long dismissed the won-loss totals of relievers. Now, when starting pitchers often last no more than six innings, their “wins” (or lack of them) are even less reflective of their performance. MLB’s Anthony Castrovince in his 2020 A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics devoted a chapter to explaining “How the Win Came to Be Baseball’s Most Deceptive Stat.”
Heck, a reliever can earn a victory without even pitching. Lefty Alan Embree of the Colorado Rockies was the winning pitcher against the Nationals at Coors Field on July 7, 2009, even though he didn’t throw a pitch when he came on in relief.
Embree, 39, relieved Joel Peralta with the score 4-4 and two outs in the 8th inning and immediately picked Austin Kearns off first to retire the side. Kearns apparently broke too soon on a steal attempt. The play went 1-3-6., a picked off/caught stealing. The Rockies took the lead in the bottom of the inning with a run off Julian Taveras and ended up winning, 5-4.
Under MLB scoring rule 9.17 (a), Embree was the pitcher of record at the time. Colorado’s Huston Street retired Washington in order in the ninth for his 21st save.
A classic situational lefty, Embree was in his 16th and final big league season. Pitching for nine different teams, he appeared in more games than his total of innings pitched. Today’s rules aimed at speeding up games effectively prohibit the kind of careers Embree and other such lefthanders had.
This was one game in which Embree’s appearance ended quickly. Three days later, he was hit by a line drive that broke his right leg. That was his last appearance in the majors.
Through 2024, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, Embree is one of two relievers since the 2000 season to be awarded a victory without throwing a pitch. He was the first since B.J. Ryan of the Baltimore Orioles, who did it on May 1, 2004, similarly picking off a runner against the Tigers in Detroit.
Embree was the winning pitcher in 39 of the 882 games in which he appeared. A victory awarded to a relief pitcher is often the result of entering a tie game or, worse, yielding a lead. Rule anomalies such as this one or even the discretion of the official scorer can come into play.
These wins awarded to pitchers, especially relievers, mean little. These days, when starting pitchers often last no more than six innings, their “wins” (or lack of them) are even less reflective of their performance. MLB’s Anthony Castrovince in his 2020 A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics devoted chapter to explaining “How the Win Came to Be Baseball’s Most Deceptive Stat.”
Embree’s cumulative bWAR over 16 years: 2.4. Ouch. His lifetime ERA was 3.97 (another often maligned stats for relievers), but some team always needed a lefty like him to face a batter or two. His ERA entering this game was 6.09.
To be fair, he had better results in other years and in several post-seasons, beating the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS and getting last out in Game 7 of the 2004 Red Sox World Series’ win.
Dean Stone of the 1954 Washington Senators was the winning pitcher in the All-Star game without retiring a batter, but at least he threw two pitches before he caught a runner stealing.
The July 7 loss in Colorado dropped the last-place Nats’ record to 25-57, on the way to 103 defeats. After five more games, manager Manny Acta was fired and replaced by Jim Riggleman.
Washington baseball history 