Relief pitchers are about to receive long-awaited recognition from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Beginning in the 2026 season, the BBWAA will present a Relief Pitcher of the Year Award in both the American League and National League, adding a fifth major honor to its annual ballot alongside the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year.
This will be the first new award created by the BBWAA since the Manager of the Year Award was introduced in 1983. The decision was finalized at the organization’s December 2024 meeting and formally announced in August 2025. Voting for the inaugural awards will take place in September 2026, with the first trophies presented in November 2026.
The decision is reminiscent of 1956, when the BBWAA introduced the Cy Young Award after pitchers were routinely overlooked in MVP voting. A similar imbalance has persisted for relievers. In the last 33 seasons, only one reliever, Eric Gagne in 2003, has won a Cy Young Award, and none have won MVP. In fact, since Dennis Eckersley’s dual Cy Young and MVP season in 1992, just eight relievers have received a first-place Cy Young vote, and only four first-place MVP votes have gone to relievers in that span.
Even the most dominant names in relief history were often ignored in voting. Mariano Rivera, the only unanimous Hall of Fame inductee in MLB history, never won a Cy Young or MVP award and received just two first-place Cy Young votes in his 19-year career.
Meanwhile, the role of the bullpen has expanded dramatically. In the early 1990s, the average starter recorded about 20 outs per start, by 2025, that figure is down to 17 outs, meaning relievers are now responsible for roughly 14,500 additional outs across MLB each season. The evolution of the modern game has made relief pitching central to strategy, postseason success, and player evaluation.
Major League Baseball has recognized relievers since 2005, first with the Delivery Man of the Year Award and later with the Mariano Rivera (AL) and Trevor Hoffman (NL) Awards, introduced in 2014. Those honors are decided by a panel of retired closers. The BBWAA confirmed that MLB will continue to present its awards, but its own addition will provide an independent, voter-driven counterpart.
In 2024, Emmanuel Clase (Cleveland Guardians) and Ryan Helsley (then with St. Louis) claimed the Rivera and Hoffman Awards. Yet many elite relievers such as Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Devin Williams, Kenley Jansen, and Aroldis Chapman have never received a first-place Cy Young vote.
Supporters argue that a BBWAA-backed award will help establish clearer benchmarks for both annual recognition and eventual Hall of Fame consideration, as seen in the prolonged debates over inductees like Billy Wagner, who needed 10 years of eligibility to be elected.
