Addison Reed is the Mets’ setup man, the reliever who pitches the penultimate inning of the game based on the modern construction of baseball bullpens. All innings count the same, yet closers, who handle the game’s final inning, get much of the fame and the financial rewards that come with it.
Closers get to pump their fists, untuck their jerseys or mime shooting arrows into the sky when the victory is secured. Even the name of the statistic that defines their success has a tinge of the dramatic: save.
The reliever who tosses at least the final inning of a victory of three runs or fewer, or finishes the game with the potential tying run on base, at the plate, or on deck, is rewarded with a save in the box score.