MLB and The Hartford Honor Pirates Closer
with Trevor Hoffman NL Award; Yankees Southpaw Earns Mariano Rivera
AL Award
Mark Melancon of the Pittsburgh Pirates is the winner of the
2015 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award and
Andrew Miller of the New York Yankees is the recipient of the 2015
Mariano Rivera American 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
Two 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.
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The 30-year-old Melancon (78 G, 3-2, 2.23 ERA, 76.2 IP, 57 H, 14
BB, 62 SO, 0.93 WHIP) completed the second All-Star season of his
seven-year big-league career by leading the Majors with 51 saves
and a 96.2% (51-of-53) save percentage. The right-hander’s 51 saves
rank as the sixth-highest single-season total in NL history, making
the Colorado native one of just 12 pitchers in Major League history
to post a 50-save season. Melancon anchored a Pittsburgh bullpen
that posted the lowest ERA (2.64) in all of Major League Baseball
en route to its third consecutive Postseason appearance. The
Pirates also collected a Major League-best record of 36-17 (.680)
in one-run games in 2015. Melancon, a product of the University of
Arizona, converted a Pirates record 35 consecutive save
opportunities from April 23rd-August 15th. His 1.85 ERA in his
three seasons as a Pirate since 2013 represents the second-best
mark among NL relievers with at least 120 innings pitched, behind
only last year’s Hoffman Award winner, Craig Kimbrel (1.77). During
that same span, Pirates relievers as a whole have fashioned a
National League-best 2.90 ERA.
The 30-year-old Miller (60 G, 3-2, 2.04 ERA, 61.2 IP, 33 H, 20
BB, 100 SO, 0.86 WHIP) converted 36 of his 38 save opportunities
(an AL-best 94.7%) in his first season as a Yankee. The 6’7”
left-hander posted an AL-best 14.59 strikeouts per nine innings in
2015. The 10-year Major League veteran limited opponents to a .151
batting average. Miller and teammate Dellin Betances both hit the
100-strikeout mark – a franchise first for relievers – as the New
York bullpen set a new single-season Major League record with 596
strikeouts. Miller became the first pitcher in franchise history to
convert his first 24 save chances (from April 8th-August 6th),
according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Since the inception of saves
in 1969, this marked the third-longest save streak to begin a
career with a new team, behind only Brad Lidge (first 44 save
chances in 2008-2009) of the 2008 World Series Champion
Philadelphia Phillies and Willie Hernandez (first 32 save chances)
of the 1984 World Champion Detroit Tigers, during his season in
which he won both American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young
Award honors. This was the third straight season in which Miller, a
native of Gainesville, Florida, contributed to a Club that made the
Postseason (previous: BOS 2013, BAL 2014). The University of North
Carolina product also missed 25 games this season (June 10th-July
8th) due to a left flexor forearm muscle strain.
“When the game is on the line, teams turn to their trusted
relievers to help them prevail,” said The Hartford’s President Doug
Elliot. “At The Hartford, this is the role we play every day for
our customers and is why we’re proud to sponsor the Reliever of the
Year Awards. We congratulate Andrew Miller and Mark Melancon for
their tremendous performances this season.”
The NL relievers who were the runners-up are right-handers
Jeurys Familia (76 G, 2-2, 1.85 ERA, 43 saves, 78.0 IP, 59 H, 19
BB, 86 SO, 1.00 WHIP) of the New York Mets and Trevor Rosenthal (68
G, 2-4, 2.10 ERA, 48 saves, 68.2 IP, 62 H, 25 BB, 83 SO) of the St.
Louis Cardinals.
The AL relievers who were the runners-up are 2015 American
League All-Stars Wade Davis of the Kansas City Royals (69 G, 8-1,
0.94 ERA, 17 saves, 67.1 IP, 33 H, 20 BB, 78 SO, 0.79 WHIP) and
Zach Britton (64 G, 4-1, 1.92 ERA, 36 saves, 65.2 IP, 51 H, 14 BB,
79 SO, 0.99 WHIP) of the Baltimore Orioles.
Balloting was conducted among a panel of eight all-time great
relievers in order to determine the recipients of the Rivera and
Hoffman Awards, which debuted in the 2014 season. 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 the three relievers who round
out the top five in career saves – Lee Smith, John Franco and Billy
Wagner. 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 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. Last
year’s inaugural winners were Kimbrel, then of the Atlanta Braves,
in the NL and Greg Holland of the Kansas City Royals for the
AL.
About The Hartford
With more than 200 years of expertise, The Hartford (NYSE:HIG)
is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits and
mutual funds. The company is widely recognized for its service
excellence, sustainability practices, trust and integrity. More
information on the company and its financial performance is
available at www.thehartford.com. Join us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/TheHartford. Follow us on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/TheHartford.
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 since 2004, MLB has enjoyed its
best-attended seasons in the history of the game, 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
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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.
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Major League BaseballPatrick Courtney or Michael Teevan,
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