The 9 relievers to win the Cy Young Award

It's not often that a relief pitcher wins the Cy Young Award.

There have been only nine relievers to win a Cy Young Award, and no one has accomplished the feat since Eric Gagne did so with the Dodgers in 2003.

Might that streak come to an end this season? It's early, but thanks to a blistering start to the 2026 season, the Padres' Mason Miller is at least entering the conversation.

Here's a look at the exclusive group of the nine relievers to win a Cy Young Award, starting with Gagne.

Eric Gagne, 2003 Dodgers
No reliever has won the Cy Young Award since Gagne, whose dominant 2003 season saw him convert each of his 55 save opportunities. He pitched to a 1.20 ERA while notching 137 strikeouts in 82 1/3 innings out of the Dodgers bullpen. This wasn’t a close vote, either: Gagne (146 vote points) doubled the total of Jason Schmidt, the second-place finisher. Mark Prior (18-6, 2.43 ERA and 245 strikeouts) finished in third place.

Dennis Eckersley, 1992 Athletics
Like Gagne in the National League, Eckersley took home the AL Cy Young Award in a landslide. He earned the honors with 107 vote points, more than double that of the second-place finisher, Jack McDowell. Eckersley went 7-1 with 51 saves in 69 games out of the A’s bullpen, posting a 1.91 ERA. He also became the third reliever to win the MVP award, joining Rollie Fingers (1981) and Willie Hernandez (1984). With 306 vote points, Eckersley defeated the likes of Kirby Puckett (209 points) and Joe Carter (201 points).

Mark Davis, 1989 Padres
One year after becoming the primary closer for the first time in his career, Davis ran away with the NL Cy Young Award. He defeated a 20-game winner in Mike Scott, denied Greg Maddux his first Cy Young Award, and prevented Orel Hershiser from winning his second in a row. Davis led the Majors with 44 saves, posting a 1.85 ERA in 92 2/3 innings.

Steve Bedrosian, 1987 Phillies
In the closest Cy Young vote in the history of the award, Bedrosian earned NL honors with 57 vote points over Rick Sutcliffe (55 points) and Rick Reuschel (54 points) after posting a 2.83 ERA with an MLB-leading 40 saves. Nolan Ryan, who led NL qualifiers with 2.76 ERA and notched an MLB-best 270 K’s, tied for fifth place thanks to his 8-16 record.

Willie Hernandez, 1984 Tigers
Two weeks before Opening Day, the Tigers swung one of the most consequential trades in franchise history, acquiring Hernandez from the Phillies in a four-player deal. Hernandez appeared in 80 games -- throwing 140 1/3 innings -- while recording 32 saves and pitching to a 1.92 ERA. Hernandez recorded two saves in the World Series, closing out Game 5 of the Fall Classic to give the Tigers their first title since 1968. Another relief pitcher, Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry, finished as the runner up, while Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven finished in third place.

Rollie Fingers, 1981 Brewers
Fingers recorded a 1.04 ERA with an MLB-leading 28 saves over 78 innings during the strike-shortened 1981 campaign, not only winning the AL Cy Young Award but also taking home league MVP honors after helping Milwaukee reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. He became the second reliever to win MVP after Jim Konstanty did so in 1950 (predating the establishment of the Cy Young Award).

Bruce Sutter, 1979 Cubs
Sutter actually had a better season in 1977 (1.34 ERA, 31 SV, 129 K’s), but his ’79 campaign was plenty impressive as well. The right-hander led the Majors with 37 saves while posting a 2.22 ERA and 110 strikeouts over 101 1/3 innings, topping runner-up Joe Niekro (21 wins, 3.00 ERA) in a narrow vote for the NL Cy Young Award. J.R. Richard finished in third place despite leading the Majors in strikeouts (313) and recording the best ERA (2.71) among MLB qualifiers.

Sparky Lyle, 1977 Yankees
Lyle is perhaps best remembered for co-authoring the late-1970s Yankees tell-all “The Bronx Zoo” and pioneering closer entrance music by walking out to "Pomp and Circumstance" -- but he also holds the distinction of being the first AL reliever to earn Cy Young honors. The lefty won the award after recording a 2.17 ERA with 26 saves over 137 innings in 1977, a year that saw five other AL pitchers receive at least one first-place vote. Lyle’s win prevented Jim Palmer (20 wins, 2.91 ERA), who finished as the 1977 AL runner-up, from becoming the first pitcher to earn three consecutive Cy Youngs.

Mike Marshall, 1974 Dodgers
No one has ever had a season quite like Marshall’s 1974 campaign. Appearing in an MLB-record 106 games in his first year with the Dodgers, the right-hander threw 208 1/3 innings without making a single start. Marshall, who also recorded a 2.42 ERA with 21 saves and 143 strikeouts, is the only pitcher in Major League history to reach the 200-inning plateau in a season with no starts. He edged out Dodgers teammate Andy Messersmith (20 wins, 2.59 ERA) and the Braves’ Phil Niekro (20 wins, 2.38 ERA) for NL Cy Young honors, becoming the first reliever to win the award.