There were really no relief pitchers during the first 40 seasons of Major League Baseball, through the 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1900s. The first relief pitchers really came along in the 1910s.

During those first 40 seasons of MLB, in the rare occasions that the starting pitcher did not finish the game and a relief pitcher was needed, one of the other starting pitchers who had the day...

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