Decision

A decision is a statistic for pitchers which counts the number of times a pitcher is credited with either a win or a loss, instead of a no-decision. In certain cases, the term also includes saves. The term pitcher of record is also sometimes called the "pitcher of decision".

This is normally used mainly for starting pitchers, as a large number of decisions normally indicates that the pitcher has the ability to pitch deep into the game, which is valuable in itself, but not too much should be made of this. For example, a truly outstanding pitcher like Jacob deGrom has often had low totals of decisions not because he did not pitch well, but because he received precious little run support, therefore leaving a large number of low-scoring games when they were still tied.

For relief pitchers, a decision is largely a function of usage. Typically, LOOGYs will have very low decision totals, as will many closers, who come in to confirm a decision that will go to another pitcher. Middle relievers, who are used often when the game is tied, or when their team trails by one or two runs, will accumulate many more decisions.