Bautista earns Mariano Rivera Award as AL’s top reliever

BALTIMORE -- Despite missing the final five weeks of the 2023 season -- as well as the Orioles’ return to the postseason -- Félix Bautista placed 11th in the American League Cy Young Award voting, receiving three fifth-place votes. The 28-year-old closer likely would have ended up higher had he not partially torn his right UCL on Aug. 25.

Bautista is still getting some hardware for his impressive sophomore MLB campaign, though.

On Wednesday, Bautista was named the winner of the 2023 Mariano Rivera Award, given annually to the top relief pitcher in the AL. The voting process was conducted by a panel of legendary relievers.

It is the second time a Baltimore reliever has won the award, which was first handed out in 2014. Zack Britton received the honor in ‘16.

In 2023, no reliever was as dominant as Bautista, who went 8-2 with a 1.48 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP across 56 appearances. The right-hander led all MLB relief pitchers in strikeouts (110) and ranked third in the AL in saves (33) despite having his season cut short after 61 innings.

Bautista was named the AL Reliever of the Month three times -- April, May and July -- in receiving an honor that hadn’t been won by an O’s relief pitcher since Jim Johnson in May 2012.

The Orioles signed Bautista as a Minor League free agent in August 2016, but he didn’t reach the Majors until ‘22, when he used a strong showing in Spring Training to break camp with the big league team.

Bautista then pitched to a 2.19 ERA over 65 appearances as a rookie, taking over the closer’s role after Jorge López was dealt to the Twins ahead of the Trade Deadline.

In 2023, Bautista earned his first All-Star nod, recording a 1.07 ERA in 39 first-half outings. He was nearly unhittable during the summer, putting together his two best months in June (a 0.84 ERA and a 0.56 WHIP in 10 2/3 innings) and July (a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP in 14 innings).

Nicknamed “The Mountain” because of his 6-foot-8, 285-pound frame, Bautista has quickly become a fan favorite in Baltimore. When he enters games at Camden Yards, the lights flicker around the ballpark and the speakers play Omar’s whistle from “The Wire,” a Baltimore-based TV series.

Orioles fans won’t be treated to that show next season. Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October, and he is expected to be sidelined until Spring Training 2025.

Eventually, Baltimore will get its lights-out closer back, and the club is optimistic Bautista will return to his elite -- and now award-winning -- form.

“He’s going to get through this. He’s got very good health and work ethic otherwise,” general manager Mike Elias said in late September. “But obviously, we’re going to miss the hell out of the guy.”

The Orioles didn’t have Bautista when they got swept in three games in the AL Division Series by the eventual World Series champion Rangers. But he experienced Baltimore’s two clubhouse celebrations -- when the club clinched a postseason berth on Sept. 17 and again when it won the AL East title on Sept. 28.

It’s quite possible the O’s wouldn’t have been spraying champagne then if not for Bautista’s earlier performances.

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