In 1956, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America created the Cy Young Award when it became apparent that pitchers weren’t getting their proper due in MVP voting. That history is about to repeat itself.
The BBWAA announced Saturday that it has voted to create a Relief Pitcher of the Year Award in each league, beginning in 2026. It will be presented every November, alongside the group’s other awards — MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year.
The honor for Major League Baseball’s best relief pitcher is the BBWAA’s first new award since the inception of the Manager of the Year in 1983.
The BBWAA conducted an online vote on the proposal over the past two weeks. That balloting concluded Friday, and the results were announced to members Saturday.
Major League Baseball has its own awards for relievers: the Mariano Rivera Award (AL) and Trevor Hoffman Award (NL), which are voted upon by a panel of retired closers. The league is expected to continue with those awards.
As part of the BBWAA voting, members were asked if they’d prefer to differentiate the relief pitcher of the year honor from the Rivera and Hoffman awards by giving out just one award to the best reliever in MLB. However, the vote was to maintain consistency with the BBWAA’s other four major awards by electing one winner in each league.
The first voting will be conducted in September 2026, and the first Relief Pitcher of the Year trophies will be handed out in November 2026.
(Photo of Jhoan Duran and J.T. Realmuto: Heather Barry / Getty Images)
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