The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) award given from

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

to the top

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

s of the regular season, one in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) and one in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL). Relief pitchers enter the game after the

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitc ...

is removed. The award was sponsored by the

antacid An antacid is a substance which neutralizes stomach acidity and is used to relieve heartburn, indigestion or an upset stomach. Some antacids have been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Marketed antacids contain salts of alumi ...

brand Rolaids, whose

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group. Th ...

was "R-O-L-A-I-D-S spells relief." Because the first closers were nicknamed " firemen", a reference to "putting out the fire" of another team's rally, the trophy was a gold-plated firefighter's helmet. Statistical performance determined the winner, unlike the voting bodies that chose the recipients of the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...

and the MLB Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. Each save was worth three points; each win was worth two points; and each loss was worth negative two points. Beginning with the

1988 MLB season File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicen ...

, negative two points were given for

blown save In baseball, a save (abbreviated SV or S) is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in which his team ...

s. In the 2000 MLB season, Rolaids added an additional point for a "tough save": when a relief pitcher got the save after entering the game with the potential tying run on base. The player with the highest point total won the award. The first winners were Bill Campbell (AL) and Rawly Eastwick (NL); Campbell also won in the following season. Dan Quisenberry and

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "San ...

each won the AL award five times, while

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985, when his effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseb ...

and Bruce Sutter won the award four times each. Lee Smith won the award on three occasions; Campbell,

Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...

, Dave Righetti, John Franco, Éric Gagné, Randy Myers,

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego P ...

, Francisco Rodríguez, Heath Bell, and José Valverde each won the award twice. Sutter (NL 1979), Fingers (AL 1981), Steve Bedrosian (NL 1987), Mark Davis (NL 1989), Eckersley (AL 1992), and Éric Gagné (NL 2003) won the Relief Man and the Cy Young Award in the same season; Fingers and Eckersley won the AL MVP as well, in 1981 and 1992 respectively. Todd Worrell won both the Relief Man and the

MLB Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The a ...

in the

1986 MLB season The 1986 Major League Baseball season saw the New York Mets win their second World Series title, their first since 1969. Awards and honors *Baseball Hall of Fame ** Bobby Doerr ** Ernie Lombardi ** Willie McCovey Other awards *Outstanding De ...

. Rivera and

Joe Nathan Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detro ...

were the only relief pitchers to have tied in points for the award, and both received the award in 2009.

Goose Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York ...

, Fingers, Eckersley, Hoffman, Rivera, Smith,

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time ...

and Sutter were elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

. Craig Kimbrel (NL) and Jim Johnson (AL) were the final award winners in 2012. In 2013,

Sanofi Sanofi S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synth� ...

acquired Rolaids from

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

unit

McNeil Consumer Healthcare McNeil Consumer Healthcare is an American medicals products company belonging to the Johnson & Johnson healthcare products group. It primarily sells fast-moving consumer goods such as over-the-counter drugs. History The company was founded on M ...

and cancelled the award.

Winners

Rollie Fingers - San Diego Padres - 1978

John Smoltz with Colonel Air Force (cropped)

Éric Gagné Makes His Return to Dodger Blue

National League (1976–2012)

American League (1976–2012)

Notes

* Won

and

MLB Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

in the same season. * Won Cy Young Award in the same season. * Won

in the same season.

References

;General * * * ;Specific

External links

Relief Man Award
at MLB.com
Relief Man Award
at

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