On “Cheers,” Sam Malone played a pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Sam Malone, played by Ted Danson, was a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox before becoming the owner and bartender of Cheers. His baseball past is central to the character: he is known as “Mayday Malone,” a nickname that connects his athletic career with his later life behind the bar.
The show treats Sam’s playing career as part of his backstory rather than depicting him as an active professional athlete. He is portrayed as having pitched in the major leagues for roughly five years, with references placing him on the 1975 American League champion Red Sox team. His career was damaged by alcoholism, which helped lead him into the bar business.
The answer is sometimes shortened to “baseball player,” but “pitcher” is the more exact position and the canonical quiz answer. Sam was specifically a relief pitcher, meaning he generally entered games after the starting pitcher rather than beginning them.