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.
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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.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161029005018/en/
The HartfordDebora Raymond,
860-547-4611debora.raymond@thehartford.com@TheHartford_PRorMajor
League BaseballPatrick Courtney or Michael Teevan,
212-931-7878mlbpressbox.com, @MLB_PR
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