Emmanuel Clase, of the Cleveland Guardians, and Ryan Hensley, of the St. Louis Cardinals, won the Reliever of the Year awards, after their extraordinary 2024 campaign, in which they established themselves as the best bullpen pitchers in the entire Major Leagues. .
MLB.com noted that for the second time in three years, Clase was named Mariano Rivera of the American League Reliever of the Year. Helsley, meanwhile, won the National League’s Trevor Hoffman Award for the first time.
The best reliever in baseball gets his flowers. 💐
Emmanuel Clase has been named the American League Reliever of the Year for the second time in his career.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/dOLYDqBp4M
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) November 15, 2024
These awards are given in honor of these two legends, considered the two best closers in history, in the respective leagues in which they participated during their excellent careers in the MLB, which has them in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.
Class, in 74 commitments, pitched in 74.1 innings, in which he exhibited an ERA of 0.61 and only allowed one run in the 28 outings he had in the second half of the campaign. In fact, the Cleveland Guardians closer is the first finalist as a bullpen pitcher since Francisco Rodríguez in 2008.
For his part, Hensley led the MLB with 49 saves in 53 opportunities, setting a record for a Cardinals closer in a season. This award recognizes the best reliever in each of its leagues and is awarded to the pitcher with the best statistics.
