Saves get the glory and wins go to starters, but there is a third pitching stat that quietly measures one of the most important jobs in a modern bullpen: the hold. If you play fantasy baseball or follow the late innings closely, you have seen it, yet a lot of fans are still unsure exactly what it means or how a pitcher earns one. So what is a hold in baseball, how is it awarded, and who has the most in MLB history?
A hold rewards the setup men and middle relievers who protect a lead before the closer arrives, the pitchers who bridge the gap from the starter to the ninth inning. It is an unofficial stat, but it has become one of the best ways to value a reliever who is not racking up saves.
The chart below breaks down the hold: how it works, the rules for earning one, and the all-time leaders. Take a look, then we’ll explain each part.
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What Is a Hold in Baseball?
A hold is a stat awarded to a relief pitcher who enters the game in a save situation, protects their team’s lead, records at least one out, and then hands the lead off to another pitcher without finishing the game. In short, it measures a reliever’s ability to do exactly what the name says: hold the lead. The hold exists to give credit to the setup men and middle relievers who do crucial work in the seventh and eighth innings but rarely get the save, since the save almost always goes to the closer who finishes the game. It is the bridge-builder’s stat, rewarding the pitchers who carry a lead from the starter to the ninth inning.
How a Hold Is Awarded
To earn a hold, a relief pitcher must meet three conditions. First, they have to enter the game in a save situation, meaning they come out of the bullpen with their team leading and the game close enough to qualify, the same conditions that define a save opportunity. Second, they must record at least one out, so a minimum of one third of an inning. Third, they have to leave the game before it ends without their team ever surrendering the lead while they were pitching, and without being the pitcher who earns the save. Meet all three and the hold is recorded. Fall short on any one of them, and it is not.
What Counts as a Save Situation
Because a hold requires entering in a save situation, it helps to know what that means. A reliever qualifies if they enter with a lead of three runs or fewer and pitch at least one inning, or if they enter with the potential tying run already on base, at bat, or on deck, or if they pitch at least three effective innings while protecting a lead of any size. These are the exact same criteria used for a save. The only real difference between a hold and a save is the ending: a save goes to the pitcher who finishes the game with the lead, while a hold goes to a reliever who protects the lead and then turns it over to a teammate.
The Quirks That Trip People Up
The hold has a few wrinkles that surprise casual fans. The biggest one is that you can earn a hold even if your team loses. If a setup man protects the lead and hands it off, the hold stays on his record even if a later reliever blows it and the team goes on to lose. He did his job; what happened afterward is not charged to him. The flip side is the inherited runner rule: if a reliever leaves a runner on base who later scores and ties or erases the lead, no hold is awarded, because that runner is still his responsibility. And unlike a win or a save, of which there is exactly one per game, multiple pitchers can earn holds in the same game, even pitchers on opposing teams. What a pitcher cannot do is earn both a save and a hold in the same outing.
Who Has the Most Holds in MLB History?
The all-time career holds leader is Tony Watson, who finished with 246 holds across an 11-year career with the Pirates, Dodgers, Giants, and Angels. A 2014 All-Star, Watson passed Arthur Rhodes to claim the record in 2021 and retired the following year as the all-time leader. Rhodes ranks second at 231, followed by Tyler Clippard, Joaquin Benoit, and Joe Smith, all longtime setup men who built their value out of the bullpen rather than as closers. The single-season record is 41 holds, set by Joel Peralta with the Rays in 2013 and matched by Watson with the Pirates in 2015. Because holds are tracked only from 1999 and the stat is unofficial, these leaderboards reflect the modern bullpen era rather than all of baseball history.
Why the Hold Matters
For years, dominant setup men were undervalued because the box score had no clean way to credit them. A reliever could throw a scoreless eighth inning in a one-run game, the highest-leverage out of the night, and walk away with nothing to show for it. The hold changed that, giving teams, fans, and especially fantasy baseball players a way to measure the relievers who thrive in the setup role. As bullpens have grown more specialized and important to winning, the hold has become one of the most useful tools for spotting an elite reliever who is not a closer. For more on the late innings, see our breakdown of the most career saves in MLB history.
The Bottom Line
A hold in baseball is awarded to a relief pitcher who enters in a save situation, records at least one out, and protects their team’s lead before handing it off to another pitcher. It is an unofficial stat, tracked since 1999, that finally gives credit to the setup men who bridge the gap from the starter to the closer. Tony Watson is the all-time leader with 246, and the single-season record is 41. Saves may get the spotlight, but the hold is how baseball rewards the unsung relievers who keep a lead alive when the game is on the line.