Baltimore Orioles Star Reliever Could Win Prestigious Award Wednesday
The Baltimore Orioles have already had a busy award season with three members of their organization taking home prestigious honors.
Gunnar Henderson won AL Rookie of the Year, Brandon Hyde was the AL Manager of the Year and Mike Elias was recognized as Executive of the Year.
That’s what happens when a team wins an American League-best 101 games. The players and people in charge of making things happen get recognized at a national level.
One major reason for the Orioles’ success early on in 2023 was due to the dominance of their closer Felix Bautista.
The flamethrowing righty was electric in his second season at the MLB level.
In 56 appearances, he posted a 1.48 ERA and struck out a league-leading 110 batters among relievers across 61 innings pitched.
His great start to the year earned him his first All-Star game selection and had him in the conversation to win the Cy Young award.
Unfortunately, he tore his UCL on Aug. 25 and didn’t pitch again. It was announced that he would need to undergo Tommy John surgery, which will keep him out for the entire 2024 season.
Bautista’s numbers would have been much more substantial if he was able to get a full year of work during 2023, however, he still finished 11th in the AL Cy Young voting, which is the highest among relievers.
Baltimore’s closer is now nominated for the Reliever of the Year award and will likely be recognized as the American League’s best reliever for this past season.
His injury shouldn’t prevent Bautista from winning. He won AL Reliever of the Month three times and finished third in the AL in saves, behind the Cleveland Guardians’ closer Emmanuel Clase (44) and Toronto Blue Jays’ Jordan Romano (36).
However, their ERAs were 3.22 and 2.90, respectively, compared to Bautista’s 1.48. They also had strikeout totals of 64 and 72, a long way off from 110.
Winners of the award will be announced on Wednesday.