MLB and The Hartford Honor Orioles Closer with Mariano Rivera AL Award; Dodgers Stopper Earns Trevor Hoffman NL Award
Zach Britton of the Baltimore Orioles is the recipient of the 2016
Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award and Kenley
Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the winner of the 2016 Trevor
Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award, Major League
Baseball and presenting sponsor The Hartford announced today. The
announcement was made at a press conference before Game Four of the
World Series, which was attended by the winners as well as Commissioner
Robert D. Manfred, Jr., Hoffman, Rivera and Doug Elliot, president of
The Hartford.
In his sixth Major League season – which was his third as the Orioles’
closer – Britton assembled a 0.54 ERA, converted all of his 47 save
opportunities and posted a 2-1 record in 69 games. In 67.0 innings, the
28-year-old southpaw surrendered just 38 hits – including a single home
run – and 18 walks, while striking out 74 batters. Opponents batted a
meager .162 and slugged .209 against the two-time AL All-Star this
season. Britton, a third-round pick by Baltimore in the 2006 MLB Draft,
helped the Orioles secure an American League Wild Card berth this
season, their third Postseason appearance in the last five years. The
groundball-inducing specialist earned the save in the AL’s 4-2 victory
in the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego. According to the Elias Sports
Bureau, only two other pitchers in Major League history have posted an
ERA below 1.00 in a season with at least 40 saves: Hall of Famer Dennis
Eckersley with the 1990 Oakland Athletics (0.61, 48 saves) and Fernando
Rodney of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012 (0.60, 48 saves).
Jansen fashioned a 3-2 mark and a 1.83 ERA in collecting 47 saves in 71
games for the Dodgers, the NL West Champions for a fourth consecutive
year in 2016. In 68.2 innings, the 29-year-old fanned 104 batters and
yielded only 35 hits and 11 walks, resulting in a Major League-best WHIP
of 0.67. The Curaçao native owned the best strikeout-to-walk ratio in
the National League (9.45). The first-time All-Star in 2016 limited
opposing hitters to a .150 batting average, the best mark for any
reliever in the Majors, as well as .252 slugging. During the campaign,
the former catcher – who has competed for the Kingdom of the Netherlands
in the two most recent World Baseball Classics (2009 and 2013) – also
established new Dodger franchise marks in saves, finishing the year with
189 after surpassing Eric Gagné (161), and strikeouts as a reliever,
with his 632 eclipsing Jim Brewer’s mark of 604. Jansen anchored a
Dodger bullpen that combined to set a franchise record with 590.2
innings pitched and 607 total appearances, both of which led the Majors.
The 6’5” right-hander holds a 2.20 career ERA in his seven Major League
seasons.
“Congratulations to Zach Britton and Kenley Jansen for their outstanding
performances this season,” said The Hartford’s President Doug Elliot.
“Zach and Kenley consistently deliver for their teams during the biggest
moments of a game. At The Hartford, we are committed to doing the same
for our customers by ensuring they prevail when the unexpected happens.”
Balloting for the Rivera and Hoffman Awards, which debuted in the 2014
season, was conducted among a panel of eight all-time great relievers in
order to determine the recipients. Rivera and Hoffman, both of whom
spent their entire careers in the same League en route to the top of the
all-time saves list, were joined as voters by three Hall of Fame relief
pitchers – Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers and Bruce Sutter – and Lee
Smith, John Franco and Billy Wagner. The panel includes the six all-time
saves leaders who are no longer active players. The eight voters ranked
the top three AL relief pitchers and the top three NL relief pitchers
based solely on regular season performance, using a 5-3-1 weighted point
system.
The AL relievers who were the runners-up are Cleveland Indians
left-hander Andrew Miller (70 G, 10-1, 1.45 ERA, 12 saves, 74.1 IP, 42
H, 9 BB, 123 SO, 0.69 WHIP), who was the winner of the 2015 Rivera
Award, and right-hander Roberto Osuna (72 G, 4-3, 2.68 ERA, 36 saves,
74.0 IP, 55 H, 14 BB, 82 SO, 0.93 WHIP) of the Toronto Blue Jays.
The NL relievers who were the runners-up are Washington Nationals
right-hander Mark Melancon (75 G, 2-2, 1.64 ERA, 47 saves, 71.1 IP, 52
H, 12 BB, 65 SO, 0.90 WHIP), who was the recipient of the 2015 Hoffman
Award, and right-hander Jeurys Familia (78 G, 3-4, 2.55 ERA, 51 saves,
77.2 IP, 63 H, 31 BB, 84 SO) of the New York Mets.
The Rivera and Hoffman Awards replaced MLB’s “Delivery Man of the Year
Award,” which was presented to one winner in all of Major League
Baseball from 2005-2013, and have continued a longstanding baseball
tradition of honoring the game’s top relief pitchers. The inaugural
winners in 2014 were Kimbrel, then of the Atlanta Braves, in the NL and
Greg Holland of the Kansas City Royals for the AL. Last year’s
recipients were Mark Melancon, then of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and
Andrew Miller, then of the New York Yankees.
About The Hartford
The Hartford is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group
benefits and mutual funds. With more than 200 years of expertise, The
Hartford is widely recognized for its service excellence, sustainability
practices, trust and integrity. More information on the company and its
financial performance is available at https://www.thehartford.com.
Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheHartford_PR.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE:HIG) operates through
its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is
headquartered in Hartford, Conn. For additional details, please read The
Hartford’s legal notice.
About Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic professional sports
league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S.
and Canada, representing the highest level of professional baseball.
Major League Baseball is the best-attended sport in North America, and
the last decade includes all 10 of the best-attended individual seasons
by fans in MLB history, with each regular season eclipsing the 73
million mark. Now led by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., MLB
currently features record levels of labor peace, competitive balance and
industry revenues, as well as the most comprehensive drug-testing
program in American professional sports. MLB remains committed to making
an impact in the communities of the U.S., Canada and throughout the
world, perpetuating the sport’s larger role in society and permeating
every facet of baseball’s business, marketing and community relations
endeavors. With the continued success of MLB Advanced Media and MLB
Network, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy
America’s National Pastime and a truly global game. For more information
on Major League Baseball, visit www.MLB.com.
