Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league with the most wins each season. In baseball, wins are a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. Credit for a win is given by the official scorer to the pitcher whose team takes and maintains the lead while he is the pitcher of record. If a game is tied or if the lead changes to the other team, all pitchers who have participated and exited the game to that point are unable to receive credit for the victory. A starting pitcher is ineligible for the win if he has not completed five or more innings of the game; instead, the scorer would award the victory to the relief pitcher who was "most effective... in the official scorer's judgment".
