The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) announced it has created a new Relief Pitcher of the Year Award for the American League and National League that will be voted on presented to winners starting with the 2026 season.
The proposal received enough support from members of the group after a two-week voting period that concluded on Friday.
The Relief Pitcher of the Year Award will be presented alongside the BBWAA’s other awards, including MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year for both leagues.
It represents the BBWAA’s first new award since the inception of Manager of the Year in 1983.
Major League Baseball currently honors its top relief pitchers with the Mariano Rivera Award (American League) and Trevor Hoffman Award (National League) at the end of every season.
They are voted upon by a panel of retired closers, and it is expected that MLB will continue giving out the honors even with the addition of BBWAA’s new awards.
Before those were established, MLB honored the top reliever with the Roland’s Relief Man Award from 1976-2012.
How Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards would be beneficial
The creation of a notable award for relief pitchers should be beneficial in several ways. For one, it would give them proper recognition for their performance.
A relief pitcher hasn’t won the Cy Young Award since Eric Gagné in 2003, and it is rare to see one so much as place highly in voting to begin with.
Furthermore, a Relief Pitcher of the Year Award for the NL and AL could help players earn more salary by way of contractual incentives. Starting pitchers and hitters often receive bonuses based on where they place in Cy Young and MVP voting, respectively, and the same could apply to relievers.
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