The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award was an annual award presented to the best relief pitcher in each league in Major League Baseball (MLB).[1] It was established in 1960 by The Sporting News (TSN) as the Fireman of the Year Award. At the time, no reliever had ever received a Cy Young Award vote.[2] The Fireman of the Year Award originally recognized the reliever with the most combined saves and wins in each league in MLB.[3] The magazine had started publishing the then-unofficial save statistic that same year.[4] Later, a save was worth two points compared to one for a save in determining the winner.[4] In 2001 the award was chosen based on consensus from TSN editors, and it was renamed to Reliever of the Year Award.[5] The award was last issued in 2010 before being discontinued.
![]() Five-time winner Dan Quisenberry | |
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
League | Major League Baseball |
Awarded for | Most outstanding relief pitcher in the American League and National League |
Country | United States, Canada |
Presented by | Sporting News |
History | |
First award | 1960 |
Final award | 2010 |
Most wins | Mariano Rivera (6) |
Year | American League | Team | National League | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Mike Fornieles | Boston Red Sox | Lindy McDaniel | St. Louis Cardinals |
1961 | Luis Arroyo | New York Yankees | Stu Miller | San Francisco Giants |
1962 | Dick Radatz | Boston Red Sox | Roy Face | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1963 | Stu Miller (2) | Baltimore Orioles | Lindy McDaniel (2) | Chicago Cubs |
1964 | Dick Radatz (2) | Boston Red Sox | Al McBean | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1965 | Eddie Fisher | Chicago White Sox | Ted Abernathy | Chicago Cubs |
1966 | Jack Aker | Kansas City A's | Phil Regan | Los Angeles Dodgers |
1967 | Minnie Rojas | California Angels | Ted Abernathy (2) | Cincinnati Reds |
1968 | Wilbur Wood | Chicago White Sox | Phil Regan (2) | Chicago Cubs |
1969 | Ron Perranoski | Minnesota Twins | Wayne Granger | Cincinnati Reds |
1970 | Ron Perranoski (2) | Minnesota Twins | Wayne Granger (2) | Cincinnati Reds |
1971 | Ken Sanders | Milwaukee Brewers | Dave Giusti | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1972 | Sparky Lyle | New York Yankees | Clay Carroll | Cincinnati Reds |
1973 | John Hiller | Detroit Tigers | Mike Marshall | Montreal Expos |
1974 | Terry Forster | Chicago White Sox | Mike Marshall (2) | Los Angeles Dodgers |
1975 | Rich Gossage | Chicago White Sox | Al Hrabosky | St. Louis Cardinals |
1976 | Bill Campbell | Minnesota Twins | Rawly Eastwick | Cincinnati Reds |
1977 | Bill Campbell (2) | Boston Red Sox | Rollie Fingers | San Diego Padres |
1978 | Rich Gossage (2) | New York Yankees | Rollie Fingers (2) | San Diego Padres |
1979 | Jim Kern Mike Marshall (3) | Texas Rangers Minnesota Twins | Bruce Sutter | Chicago Cubs |
1980 | Dan Quisenberry | Kansas City Royals | Rollie Fingers (3) Tom Hume | San Diego Padres Cincinnati Reds |
1981 | Rollie Fingers (4) | Milwaukee Brewers | Bruce Sutter (2) | St. Louis Cardinals |
1982 | Dan Quisenberry (2) | Kansas City Royals | Bruce Sutter (3) | St. Louis Cardinals |
1983 | Dan Quisenberry (3) | Kansas City Royals | Al Holland Lee Smith | Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs |
1984 | Dan Quisenberry (4) | Kansas City Royals | Bruce Sutter (4) | St. Louis Cardinals |
1985 | Dan Quisenberry (5) | Kansas City Royals | Jeff Reardon | Montreal Expos |
1986 | Dave Righetti | New York Yankees | Todd Worrell | St. Louis Cardinals |
1987 | Jeff Reardon (2) Dave Righetti (2) | Minnesota Twins New York Yankees | Steve Bedrosian | Philadelphia Phillies |
1988 | Dennis Eckersley | Oakland Athletics | John Franco | Cincinnati Reds |
1989 | Jeff Russell | Texas Rangers | Mark Davis | San Diego Padres |
1990 | Bobby Thigpen | Chicago White Sox | John Franco (2) | New York Mets |
1991 | Dennis Eckersley (2) Bryan Harvey | Oakland Athletics California Angels | Lee Smith (2) | St. Louis Cardinals |
1992 | Dennis Eckersley (3) | Oakland Athletics | Doug Jones Lee Smith (3) | Houston Astros St. Louis Cardinals |
1993 | Jeff Montgomery | Kansas City Royals | Randy Myers | Chicago Cubs |
1994 | Lee Smith (4) | Baltimore Orioles | John Franco (3) | New York Mets |
1995 | José Mesa | Cleveland Indians | Randy Myers (2) | Chicago Cubs |
1996 | John Wetteland | New York Yankees | Trevor Hoffman | San Diego Padres |
1997 | Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees | Jeff Shaw | Cincinnati Reds |
1998 | Tom Gordon | Boston Red Sox | Trevor Hoffman (2) | San Diego Padres |
1999 | Mariano Rivera (2) | New York Yankees | Ugueth Urbina | Montreal Expos |
2000 | Todd Jones | Detroit Tigers | Antonio Alfonseca | Florida Marlins |
Year | American League | Team | National League | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Mariano Rivera (3) | New York Yankees | Armando Benítez Robb Nen | New York Mets San Francisco Giants |
2002 | Billy Koch | Oakland Athletics | John Smoltz | Atlanta Braves |
2003 | Keith Foulke | Oakland Athletics | Éric Gagné | Los Angeles Dodgers |
2004 | Mariano Rivera (4) | New York Yankees | Éric Gagné (2) | Los Angeles Dodgers |
2005 | Mariano Rivera (5) Joe Nathan | New York Yankees Minnesota Twins | Chad Cordero | Washington Nationals |
2006 | Francisco Rodríguez | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Trevor Hoffman (3) | San Diego Padres |
2007 | Joe Borowski | Cleveland Indians | José Valverde | Arizona Diamondbacks |
2008 | Francisco Rodríguez (2) | Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | Brad Lidge | Philadelphia Phillies |
2009 | Mariano Rivera (6) | New York Yankees | Ryan Franklin | St. Louis Cardinals |
2010 | Rafael Soriano | Tampa Bay Rays | Heath Bell | San Diego Padres |