Awards = HOF?: Part Fifty-Eight: Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman Award

We here at Notinhalloffame.com thought it would be fun to take a look at the major awards in North American team sports and see how it translates into Hall of Fame potential.

Needless to say, different awards in different sports yield hall of fame potential.  In basketball, the team sport with the least number of players on a roster, the dividend for greatness much higher.  In baseball, it is not as much as a great individual season does not have the same impact.

Last time, we looked at the now defunct Delivery Man of the Year, a trophy that only existed from 2005 to 2013.  We also looked at recently the Rolaids Reliever of the Year, which was mathematically calculated to honor the best closer.  In 2014, a new award, which will likely be the gold standard for closers arrived, the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year.

These awards honor the best modern closers after being named after two Hall of Famers.

Yes, we know that this is embryonic, but that will only be temporary, so we know that this won’t yield anyone…for now.

So how many Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year winners have made the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Let’s find out!

The following are the past players who have won either the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year who are eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame and have been enshrined.

None

The following are the players who have won the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year who are eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame and have not been selected:

None.

Let’s update our tally, shall we?       

So, who is up next?

The following are the players who have won the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year in MLB who have retired but have not met the mandatory years out of the game to qualify for the Baseball Hall of Fame: 

None.

The following are the players who have won the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year and Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year in MLB who are still active.

Greg Holland, Kansas City Royals: 1-3, 46 Saves, 1.44 ERA, 90 SO, 2014, AL

Greg Holland was in his fifth year in the Majors, all of which were in Kansas City.  An All-Star in 2013, Holland was so again in 2014, and posted a 1.44 ERA with a 0.914 WHIP. Holland was ninth in Cy Young voting this year, and he helped the Royals win the American League Pennant.  The Royals won the World Series in 2015, but Holland had to leave late in the season for Tommy John Surgery.  He came back in 2016, but with St. Louis. Holland came back in 2020 to the Royals.

35 Years Old, Playing for the Kansas City Royals.

Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves: 0-3, 47 Saves, 1.61 ERA, 95 SO, 2014, NL

By this point, Craig Kimbrel already won the Rookie of the Year, and was the final NL Rolaids Reliever of the Year and Delivery Man of the Year.  Kimbrel fittingly became the first Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year, and this was his fourth consecutive season leading the NL in Saves. He notably was named the TSN Pitcher of the Year, the second straight time that Kimbrel won that award.  Kimbrel was ninth in Cy Young voting.

33 Years Old, Playing for the Chicago Cubs.

Andrew Miller, New York Yankees: 3-2, 36 Saves, 2.04 ERA, 100 SO, 2015, AL

It didn’t take long for a Yankee to win an award named after a Yankee, but it did take Miller long to win an award of any kind as a Major League Pitcher.  Miller debuted in 2006 for Detroit, and he would later play for Florida, Boston and Baltimore, joining the Yankees in 2015.  This was his only year as a closer, and only full year with the Yankees, as he was traded to Cleveland during the 2016 Season.  Miller finished ninth in Cy Young voting this year and had a 0.859 WHIP.

36 Years Old, Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates: 3-2, 51 Saves, 2.23 ERA, 62 SO, 2015, NL

Mark Melancon began his career with the New York Yankees, and he would later throw for Houston and Boston before becoming a Pittsburgh Pirate in 2013.  An All-Star in 2013, Melancon was so again in 2015, where he led the National League in Saves (51) where he was eighth in Cy Young voting.  He led the NL in Games Finished (67) the following year, though he split the season with the Pirates and Washington.

36 Years Old, Playing for the Atlanta Braves.

Zack Britton, Baltimore Orioles: 2-1, 47 Saves, 0.54 ERA, 74 SO, 2016, AL

Zack Britton began his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 2011, and he would be promoted to the team’s closer in 2014.  Britton was an All-Star in 2015, leasing the American League in Games Finished (58), with 46 Saves and a 1.92 ERA, but he took that good number and sliced by nearly two-thirds with a 0.54 ERA.  Britton led the AL in Games Finished that year (63) and Saves (47) and was an All-Star for the second time as well as the fourth-place finisher for the Cy Young.

33 Years Old, Playing for the New York Yankees.

Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers: 3-2, 47 Saves, 1.83 ERA, 104 SO, 2016, NL

Kenley Jansen debuted in the Majors for the Dodgers in 2010 where the native of Curacao has spent his entire career in the bullpen. Jansen became the closer in 2012, and in 2016, he was an All-Star for the first time on the strength of his 47 Saves, 1.83 ERA and 0.670 WHIP.  His 13.6 SO/9 was also among the best in Baseball.

33 Years Old, Playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox: 5-0, 35 Saves, 1.43 ERA, 126 SO, 2017, AL (2)

Kinbrel joined the Boston Red Sox in 2016, going to his fifth All-Star Game.  This was best year in Boston, as he was an All-Star again where he again won the TSN Pitcher of the Year, and was sixth in Cy Young voting.  Kimbrel became the first player to win the Hoffman and Rivera Award. He won a World Series Ring the following year, and he would leave Boston for the Cubs, going three-for-three in All-Star Games.

33 Years Old, Playing for the Chicago Cubs.

Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers: 5-0, 41 Saves, 1.32 ERA, 109 SO, 2017, NL (2)

Jansen followed up his 2016 Hoffman winning year with another one, and did so at an even higher level.  Jansen dropped his ERA to 1.32, had a WHIP of 0.746 and posted a blistering of SO/BB of 15.57.  Jansen was fifth in Cy Young voting that year.

33 Years Old, Playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Edwin Diaz, Seattle Mariners: 0-4, 57 Saves, 1.96 ERA, 124 SO, 2018, AL

Edwin Diaz may not have won a game this year, but who cares? He led the AL in Saves (57), and Games Finished (65) and he matched his sub-2 ERA with an even more impressive WHIP of 0.791.  Diaz, who went to the All-Star Game this year, was eighth in Cy Young voting.

26 Years Old, Playing for the New York Mets.

Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers: 6-1, 12 Saves, 2.43 ERA, 143 SO, 2018, NL

From the 12 Saves, you could see that Hader was not the primary closer, but as relief pitching changes, so do stats for an award such as this. Hader fanned 143 batters, a filthy amount considering he only threw 81.1 Innings.  His 15.8 SO/9 and 0.811 WHIP were incredible, and he was named to the All-Star Game in what was his second year in the Majors.  He was also seventh in Cy Young in voting.

27 Years Old, Playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees: 6-1, 12 Saves, 2.43 ERA, 143 SO, 2019, AL

A four-time All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds and World Series winner with the Chicago Cubs, Chapman later became a Yankee (twice actually) and in 2018 he was an All-Star for the first time in the American League.  2019 was Chapman’s sixth All-Star year, but first winning any individual award with his 37-Save year. 

33 Years Old, Playing for the New York Yankees.

Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers: 3-5, 37 Saves, 2.63 ERA, 138 SO, 2019, NL (2)

Hader was a more traditional closer this year, but his Strikeout rate remained astronomical with a 16.4 SO/9.  An All-Star for the second straight year, Hader had another great WHIP with a 0.806.  He would become the first back-to-back Hoffman Award winner.

27 Years Old, Playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Liam Hendriks, Oakland Athletics: 3-1, 14 Saves, 1.78 ERA, 37 SO, 2020, AL

The native of Perth, Australia, Liam Hendriks was in his tenth season, and his second as a closer.  In the COVID-19 stricken year, Hendricks also posted a WHIP of 0.671 and was ninth in Cy Young voting.

32 Years Old, Free Agent.

Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers: 4-1, 0 Saves, 0.33 ERA, 53 SO, 2020

For the first time in the history of the award, we have a winner who was not a closer, so much so that he had ZERO Saves.  Devin Williams was incredible this year, allowing only one Run in his 27 Innings Pitched.  He was so good in this season, that he had a SO/9 of 17.7 with a WHIP of 0.630. Amazingly, Williams was a rookie, and also won the Rookie of the Year Award.  He also finished seventh in Cy Young Award voting.

26 Years Old, Playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.

We can’t wait to see how this award plays out in the future.

So, what is up next?

We go back to the baseball playoffs, and the ALCS and NLCS MVPs.

As always, we thank you for your support, and look for that soon.