Rolaids Relief Man Award
![]() Mariano Rivera won the AL Relief Man Award in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2009. | |
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
League | Major League Baseball |
Awarded for | Best relief pitcher in the American League and National League |
Sponsored by | Rolaids |
Presented by | Rolaids |
History | |
First award | 1976 |
Final award | 2012 |
Most wins | 5, shared by Mariano Rivera and Dan Quisenberry |
The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given from 1976 to 2012 to the top relief pitchers of the regular season, one in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL).
Relief pitchers enter the game after the starting pitcher is removed. The award was sponsored by the antacid brand Rolaids, whose slogan was "R-O-L-A-I-D-S spells relief." Because the first closers were nicknamed "firemen", a reference to "putting out the fire" of another team's rally, the trophy was a gold-plated firefighter's helmet.
Statistical performance determined the winner, unlike the voting bodies that chose the recipients of the
The first winners were
In 2013, Sanofi acquired Rolaids from Johnson & Johnson unit McNeil Consumer Healthcare and canceled the award.[8][9]
Winners
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Rollie_Fingers_-_San_Diego_Padres_-_1978.jpg/170px-Rollie_Fingers_-_San_Diego_Padres_-_1978.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Lee_Smith.jpg/170px-Lee_Smith.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Trevor_Hoffman_01.jpg/170px-Trevor_Hoffman_01.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/John_Smoltz_with_Colonel_Air_Force_%28cropped%29.jpg/170px-John_Smoltz_with_Colonel_Air_Force_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/%C3%89ric_Gagn%C3%A9_Makes_His_Return_to_Dodger_Blue.jpg/170px-%C3%89ric_Gagn%C3%A9_Makes_His_Return_to_Dodger_Blue.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Krod-fenway.jpg/170px-Krod-fenway.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/JJPutzPitching.jpg/170px-JJPutzPitching.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Brad_Lidge_phillies.jpg/170px-Brad_Lidge_phillies.jpg)
W | Wins
|
L | Losses
|
SV | Saves |
TS | Tough saves |
BS | Blown saves |
ERA | Earned run average |
WHIP | Walks plus hits per inning pitched |
Pitcher (#) | Winning pitcher and the number of times they had won the award at that point |
Player who is still active | |
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Denotes multiple winners in a single year |
National League (1976–2012)
American League (1976–2012)
Notes
- a Won Cy Young Award and MLB Most Valuable Player Award in the same season.
- b Won Cy Young Award in the same season.
- c Won MLB Rookie of the Year Award in the same season.
See also
- Major League Baseball Reliever of the Year Award (2014–present; one in each league)
- Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award (2005–2013; one for all of MLB)
- 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)
- Baseball awards
- List of MLB awards
References
- General
- "Rolaids Relief Man Award Past Winners". McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNeil-PPC, Inc. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- "Relief Man Award winners". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
- "Rookie of the Year Awards & Rolaids Relief Award Winners". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- Specific
- Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AP. May 21, 1988. p. 48. Retrieved June 6, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Tourtellotte, Shane (December 28, 2017). "The Unofficial Rules: Of Holds and Blown Saves". fangraphs.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
- ^ "About The Award". McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNeil-PPC, Inc. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
- ^ "Cy Young Award winners". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
- ^ "Most Valuable Player winners". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
- ^ "Rookie of the Year winners". Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
- ^ "Hall of Famers". Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012.
- ^ Van Riper, Tom (April 10, 2014). "Why Can't Baseball Monetize It's Big Postseason Awards?". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014.
- ^ Neyer, Rob (April 9, 2014). "Kissing the Rolaids Relief Award goodbye". FoxSports.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2014.
External links