Holland earns third-place GIBBY finish

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Royals right-hander Greg Holland finished third in the balloting for the Major Leagues' top closer in the balloting for the GIBBY (Greatness in Baseball Yearly) Awards. The winners were announced on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings.

The Braves' Craig Kimbrel won with 31.2 percent of the vote, followed by the Red Sox's Koji Uehara with 29.8 percent and Holland with 15.6.

The Royals' other nomination was a relay play, from left fielder Alex Gordon to shortstop Alcides Escobar to catcher Salvador Perez, that cut down the Tigers' Prince Fielder at the plate. But that finished way down the list of the best plays, one from each of the 30 clubs.

However, the Royals figured obliquely in the top two moments of the season. They were the Red Sox's opponents, losing 4-3, in the emotional return of baseball to Fenway Park following the Boston Marathon bombings. That was first in the category with 32.3 percent of the vote.

Perez was the catcher for Mariano Rivera's farewell All-Star outing in the Midsummer Classic in New York, which received 29.1 percent of the vote.