Reliever of the Year Award
The presentation of the trophies to the 2015 winners
SportBaseball
LeagueMajor League Baseball
Awarded forBest relief pitcher in the American League and National League
Presented byMajor League Baseball
History
First award2014
Most recentFélix Bautista (AL)
Devin Williams (NL)

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 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

Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year

A man in a white baseball uniform and navy blue cap stands on a dirt mound throwing a pitch with his right hand. He is wearing a black belt, black shoes, and a black baseball glove, and his uniform reads "Padres" in navy blue script across the chest, outlined in tan. His cap has two interlocked letters: "S" and "D".
Namesake of the NL award, Trevor Hoffman
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]
2023 Devin Williams (2) Milwaukee Brewers 36 1.53 0.920 87 58+2⁄3 [13]

Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year

A man in a gray baseball uniform and navy blue cap stands on a dirt mound. He is striding forward with his left leg as he clutches a baseball behind his head with his right hand and curls his left hand, wearing a baseball glove, under his outstretched arm. He is wearing a black belt, black shoes, and a black baseball glove, and his uniform reads "New York" in navy blue letters across the chest. His face is contorted in concentration.
Namesake of the AL award, Mariano Rivera
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 [14]
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]
2023 Félix Bautista Baltimore Orioles 33 1.48 0.918 110 61 [13]

See also

References

  1. ^ ESPN.com news services (April 9, 2014). "Awards named after retired closers". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Fordin, Spencer (April 9, 2014). "Yearly relief awards named after Rivera, Hoffman". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Greg Holland, Craig Kimbrel named 2014 Relievers of the Year". MLB.com (Press release). October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Hendriks, Williams named Relievers of Year". MLB.com. October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  5. ^ Newman, Mark (May 3, 2017). "Relievers of the Month: Allen, Holland". MLB.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "Pirates notebook: Melancon named NL's top reliever". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Britton, Jansen earn Reliever of Year honors". MLB.com. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Newton, Mark (October 28, 2017). "Kimbrel, Jansen named Relievers of the Year". mlb.com. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ a b "Chapman, Hader named Relievers of the Year". MLB.com. October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Hendriks, Hader earn Reliever of Year honors". MLB.com. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Díaz, Clase named 2022 Relievers of the Year". MLB.com.
  13. ^ a b "Strikeout artists Bautista, Williams named Relievers of the Year". MLB.com.
  14. ^ "Yankees' closer Andrew Miller wins AL Reliever of the Year Award". NJ.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.

External links

Major League Baseball Reliever of the Year Award
Major League Baseball awards and trophies
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