Liam Hendriks, Josh Hader earn the 2021 Rivera and Hoffman Awards

Liam Hendriks of the Chicago White Sox has earned the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award for the second consecutive season, while Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers has won Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year honors for the third time in his career. Hendriks is the first pitcher to repeat as the Rivera Award winner, and Hader is the first player in the history of either of these awards (dating back to 2014) to become a three-time recipient. Hendriks and Hader were announced as the recipients tonight on MLB Network.

In his fifth Major League season and his third consecutive All-Star campaign, Hader excelled again with a career-best 1.23 ERA and an NL-high 102 strikeouts in 58.2 innings pitched, surrendering just 25 hits and 24 walks. The 27-year-old left-hander assembled a 4-2 mark with 34 saves in his 35 opportunities for the NL Central Champion Brewers. The Maryland native limited opponents to a .127 batting average (25-for-197 with 3 HR). After a dominant start by fellow All-Star teammate Corbin Burnes on September 11th at Cleveland, Hader threw a perfect ninth inning to complete the second no-hitter in Brewers’ history. Since 2017, Hader’s 482 strikeouts, across 282.1 innings, are the most of any Major League reliever, and he was the fastest pitcher in Major League history to reach 400 career strikeouts (234.2 IP). Milwaukee has now possessed the Hoffman Award for four consecutive years, as Hader won in 2018-2019, while his teammate Devin Williams took the honors for 2020.

In his first year in Chicago, Hendriks played a vital role in the first AL Central crown for the White Sox since 2008. The Perth, Australia native posted a 2.54 ERA in his 71.0 innings, allowing only 45 hits and seven walks compared to 113 strikeouts. The right-hander posted an 8-3 record and 38 saves. The two-time All-Star ranked among MLB’s leading relievers in strikeouts (1st), WHIP (1st, 0.73), inherited runners stranded (1st, 90.0%), saves (tied-2nd, 38), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 14.32) and wins (tied-8th, 8). The 32-year-old finished the 2021 season with a 15-game, 15.2-IP scoreless streak, holding opponents to a .132 (7-53) average with zero walks and 23 strikeouts. Hendriks appeared in the Postseason for the fifth time in his 11-year career, including for the fourth straight year, and he also notched the save for winning pitcher Shohei Ohtani and the American League at the 2021 All-Star Game.

The AL relievers who were runners-up were Raisel Iglesias (7-5, 2.57 ERA, 34 saves, 70.0 IP, 53 H, 12 BB, 103 SO) of the Los Angeles Angels and Jordan Romano (7-1, 2.14 ERA, 23 saves, 63.0 IP, 41 H, 25 BB, 85 SO) of the Toronto Blue Jays. The NL pitchers who were runners-up were two-time (2016-17) recipient Kenley Jansen (4-4, 2.22 ERA, 38 saves, 69.0 IP, 36 H, 36 BB, 86 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers and 2015 winner Mark Melancon (4-3, 2.23 ERA, 39 saves, 64.2 IP, 54 H, 25 BB, 59 SO) of the San Diego Padres.

Balloting for the Rivera and Hoffman Awards, which debuted in the 2014 season, was conducted among a panel of seven all-time great relievers in order to determine the recipients. Rivera and Hoffman, both of whom spent their entire careers in the same League en route to the top of the all-time saves list, were joined as voters by three fellow Hall of Fame relief pitchers – Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers and Lee Smith – as well as John Franco and Billy Wagner. The seven voters ranked the top three relief pitchers by league based solely on regular season performance, using a 5-3-1 weighted point system.

Hendriks and Hader will each receive a special trophy that models the likeness of Rivera and Hoffman, respectively, pitching during their Hall of Fame careers. The Rivera and Hoffman Awards replaced MLB’s “Delivery Man of the Year Award,” which was presented to one winner in all of Major League Baseball from 2005-2013. These awards continue a longstanding baseball tradition of honoring the game’s top relief pitchers.