Strikeout artists Bautista, Williams named Relievers of the Year

The season may not have ended the way that either Félix Bautista or Devin Williams wanted, but the two most dominant closers in the game were rewarded on Wednesday with the Reliever of the Year Award in their respective leagues.

Bautista, whose remarkable campaign for the upstart Orioles was cut short by Tommy John surgery, took home the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award, while Williams -- whose Brewers were swept out of the National League Wild Card Series -- claimed his second career Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award.

• All-time Reliever of the Year Award winners

Bautista was one of the key reasons the Orioles won their first AL East title since 2014 -- and just their second in the past 25 seasons. After an impressive showing as a rookie in 2022, Bautista earned his first All-Star selection in '23 on his way to posting a 1.48 ERA, 33 saves and 110 strikeouts over 61 innings.

That average of 16.2 strikeouts per nine innings was the third-best mark in AL history among pitchers with at least 50 innings, trailing only Craig Kimbrel (16.4 in 2017) and Aroldis Chapman (16.3 in 2018).

Bautista's season ended prematurely when he experienced right elbow soreness following his Aug. 25 outing -- one that proved to be the final appearance of his breakout season. The 28-year-old reliever made an unsuccessful comeback attempt in late September before eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery on Oct. 9.

Though he was unable to pitch, Bautista was able to celebrate with his teammates when Baltimore clinched the AL East crown on Sept. 28.

“He’s a huge reason why we were celebrating,” manager Brandon Hyde said at the time. “An enormous reason why we were celebrating.”

Though the O's won 101 games during the regular season (their most since 1979), they were ultimately swept in the ALDS by the eventual World Series champion Rangers.

Williams' Brewers experienced a similar postseason exit after winning the NL Central for the second time in three seasons.

Williams, who also took home the NL Reliever of the Year honor in 2020, continued to assert himself as the most dominant closer in the big leagues with a masterful '23 campaign. The 29-year-old righty finished with a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves while striking out 87 batters over 58 2/3 innings in 61 games.

Williams has a 1.75 ERA dating to 2020, the year he won his first Reliever of the Year Award. That's the best in the Majors during that span. Bautista is second with a 1.85 ERA.

Of course, Bautista and Williams take very different approaches on the mound.

Bautista recorded 59 of his 110 strikeouts with his four-seam fastball, which averaged 99.5 mph. The other 51 came on his splitter.

Williams, on the other hand, used his changeup -- rarely a reliever's go-to offering with two strikes -- to finish off 57 of his 87 strikeouts. The other 30 came on his four-seamer, a pitch that averages just 94.2 mph.

So how did Williams come to rely on his "airbender" changeup as his out pitch?

"It’s something I played around with as a kid to mess with my friends," Williams told MLB.com in September. "I kind of carried it over to the mound. I started to develop it -- see what it's like coming off the mound. I learned to control it. I still struggle with it sometimes. Organically, it just happened from the time I was 10 years old."

That pitch has played a pivotal role in Williams becoming one of just six active pitchers to win multiple Reliever of the Year Awards. The others are Kimbrel (three), Josh Hader (three), Edwin Díaz (two), Liam Hendriks (two) and Kenley Jansen (two).

Though Bautista is expected to miss the entire 2024 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, he'll be looking to join that exclusive club when he returns to the mound in '25.

“He should be back to being Félix Bautista in Spring Training 2025, so we’ll be in good shape there long term,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias said in September. “He’s going to get through this. He’s got very good health and work ethic otherwise. But, obviously, we’re going to miss the hell out of the guy.”