Major League Baseball Reliever of the Year Award
Major League Baseball (MLB) annually honors its best relief pitchers in the American League (AL) and National League (NL) with the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award, respectively. The awards are named after former relievers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, who played their entire careers in the respective leagues.[1] First issued in 2014, the awards replaced the Delivery Man of the Year Award, which had been presented since 2005.[2]
The presentation of the trophies to the 2015 winners | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Awarded for | Best relief pitcher in the American League and National League |
| Presented by | Major League Baseball |
| History | |
| First award | 2014 |
| Most recent | Emmanuel Clase (AL) Edwin Díaz (NL) |
The Reliever of the Year Awards are based on the votes of a panel of retired relievers.[2] Each voter selects three pitchers for each league based solely on their performance in the regular season; a 5-3-1 weighted point system is used to determine the winner.[3] At its inception in 2014, the panel consisted of the top five relievers in career saves at the time—Rivera, Hoffman, Lee Smith, John Franco, and Billy Wagner—and the four living relief pitchers who were in the Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, and Bruce Sutter.
The Reliever of the Year Award winners had all been closers until 2018, when Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers won as a setup man; he later won the NL title in 2019 and 2021 as a closer. In 2019, both winners of the awards were also named in the inaugural All-MLB teams. In 2020, the Brewers' Devin Williams became the first rookie, and the first reliever with no saves, to win the award in either league.[4]
Since 2017, MLB has also issued a Reliever of the Month Award.[5]
Winners edit
Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year edit
| Year | Player | Team | SV | ERA | WHIP | K | IP | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Craig Kimbrel | Atlanta Braves | 47 | 1.61 | 0.91 | 95 | 61+2⁄3 | [3] |
| 2015 | Mark Melancon | Pittsburgh Pirates | 51 | 2.23 | 0.93 | 62 | 76+2⁄3 | [6] |
| 2016 | Kenley Jansen | Los Angeles Dodgers | 47 | 1.83 | 0.67 | 104 | 68+2⁄3 | [7] |
| 2017 | Kenley Jansen (2) | Los Angeles Dodgers | 41 | 1.32 | 0.75 | 109 | 68+1⁄3 | [8] |
| 2018 | Josh Hader | Milwaukee Brewers | 12 | 2.43 | 0.81 | 143 | 81+1⁄3 | [9] |
| 2019 | Josh Hader (2) | Milwaukee Brewers | 37 | 2.62 | 0.81 | 138 | 75+2⁄3 | [10] |
| 2020 | Devin Williams | Milwaukee Brewers | 0 | 0.33 | 0.63 | 53 | 27 | [4] |
| 2021 | Josh Hader (3) | Milwaukee Brewers | 34 | 1.23 | 0.84 | 102 | 58+2⁄3 | [11] |
| 2022 | Edwin Díaz (2) | New York Mets | 32 | 1.31 | 0.839 | 118 | 62 | [12] |
Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year edit
| Year | Player | Team | SV | ERA | WHIP | K | IP | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Greg Holland | Kansas City Royals | 46 | 1.44 | 0.91 | 90 | 62+1⁄3 | [3] |
| 2015 | Andrew Miller | New York Yankees | 36 | 2.04 | 0.86 | 100 | 61+2⁄3 | [13] |
| 2016 | Zack Britton | Baltimore Orioles | 47 | 0.54 | 0.84 | 74 | 67 | [7] |
| 2017 | Craig Kimbrel (2) | Boston Red Sox | 35 | 1.43 | 0.68 | 126 | 69 | [8] |
| 2018 | Edwin Díaz | Seattle Mariners | 57 | 1.96 | 0.79 | 124 | 73+1⁄3 | [9] |
| 2019 | Aroldis Chapman | New York Yankees | 37 | 2.21 | 1.11 | 85 | 57 | [10] |
| 2020 | Liam Hendriks | Oakland Athletics | 14 | 1.78 | 0.67 | 37 | 25+1⁄3 | [4] |
| 2021 | Liam Hendriks (2) | Chicago White Sox | 38 | 2.54 | 0.73 | 113 | 71 | [11] |
| 2022 | Emmanuel Clase | Cleveland Guardians | 42 | 1.36 | 0.729 | 77 | 72+2⁄3 | [12] |
See also edit
- Sporting News Relief Pitcher of the Year Award (2013–present; one in each league)
- Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award (1960–2010; one in each league)
- Rolaids Relief Man Award (1976–2012; one in each league)
- Baseball awards
- List of MLB awards
References edit
- ^ ESPN.com news services (April 9, 2014). "Awards named after retired closers". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ a b Fordin, Spencer (April 9, 2014). . Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
- ^ a b c . MLB.com (Press release). October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Hendriks, Williams named Relievers of Year". MLB.com. October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ^ Newman, Mark (May 3, 2017). "Relievers of the Month: Allen, Holland". MLB.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ "Pirates notebook: Melancon named NL's top reliever". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "Britton, Jansen earn Reliever of Year honors". MLB.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
- ^ a b Newton, Mark (October 28, 2017). "Kimbrel, Jansen named Relievers of the Year". mlb.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ a b "Edwin Díaz, Josh Hader Named 2018 Relievers of the Year Presented by the Hartford". apnews.com. October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "Chapman, Hader named Relievers of the Year". MLB.com. October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
- ^ a b "Hendriks, Hader earn Reliever of Year honors". MLB.com. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "Díaz, Clase named 2022 Relievers of the Year". MLB.com.
- ^ "Yankees' closer Andrew Miller wins AL Reliever of the Year Award". NJ.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
External links edit
- MLB Reliever of the Year Award at Baseball Almanac