Ace (baseball)

{{Short description|Baseball term for the primary starting pitcher in a pitching rotation}} {{about|the generic baseball term|the Toronto Blue Jays mascot|Ace (mascot)}} {{refimprove|date=March 2009}}

In baseball, an '''ace''' is a starting pitcher considered the best pitcher on a team's starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, a team's ace typically starts on Opening Day. In addition, aces are usually preferred to start crucial playoff games, sometimes on three days' rest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ace|url=https://www.sportingcharts.com/dictionary/mlb/ace.aspx|website=Sporting Charts|access-date=March 2, 2017}}</ref>

The term may be a derivation of the nickname of Asa Brainard (real first name: "Asahel"), a 19th-century star pitcher, who was sometimes referred to as "Ace".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/brainas01.php|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060622233635/http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/brainas01.php|archive-date = 2006-06-22|title = This Day in Baseball}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=3041&pid=1466|title=Asa Brainard - Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=2010-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713194033/http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&bid=3041&pid=1466|archive-date=2010-07-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the early days of baseball, the term ''ace'' was used to refer to a run.<ref>[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020223060748/http%3A//www.hickoksports.com/history/knickerb.shtml "The Knickerbocker Base Ball Club" at Hickoksports.com], including a section on the rules used by the team</ref>

Modern baseball analysts and fans have started using the term ''ace'' to refer to the elite pitchers in the game, not necessarily to the best starting pitcher on each team.<ref>{{cite web|title=Baseball Conversation|url=http://forums.prosportsdaily.com/showthread.php?t=753563}}</ref> For example, the April 27, 1981, ''Sports Illustrated'' cover was captioned "The Amazing A's and Their Five Aces" to describe the starting rotation of the 1981 Oakland Athletics, which featured Mike Norris, Rick Langford, Matt Keough, Steve McCatty, and Brian Kingman.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/06/25/as-amazing-aces-make-it-back-to-anaheim-for-a-day/|title=A's 'Amazing Aces' make it back to Anaheim for a day|newspaper=Mercury News|date=2016-06-25|access-date=2020-10-06}}</ref> Additional examples of teams described as having several aces were the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 1996, featuring Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1996/10/09/braves-holding-all-aces/dce063c3-bc4f-4528-8f6f-f078bd05ee92/|title=Braves Holding All Aces|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=1996-10-08|access-date=2025-11-18}}</ref>, the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies, which featured Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/magazine/mag-03Phillies-t.html|title=The Phillies' Four Aces|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2011-03-31|access-date=2025-11-18}}</ref>, and the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers, which featured a late-season and postseason rotation of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46660921/world-series-2025-los-angeles-dodgers-rotation-guide-snell-ohtani-yamamoto-glasnow|title=World Series 2025: Guide to the Dodgers' Ace-Filled Rotation|newspaper=ESPN|date=2025-10-21|access-date=2025-11-18}}</ref>.

==References== {{Portal|Baseball}} {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ace (Baseball)}} Category:Pitching (baseball) Category:Baseball strategy