Friday, December 16, 2005
Rivera voted top closer by fans
12/15/2005
NEW YORK -- Most closers generally have trouble sustaining their dominance over a long period of time, flaming out after a few good years.
Then again, Mariano Rivera isn't most closers.
The seven-time All-Star had what some believe was the finest season of his career in 2005, posting 43 saves and a 1.38 ERA in his ninth year as the Yankees' closer. For his efforts, Rivera was voted the Closer of the Year as part of MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards.
This marks the second consecutive season in which Rivera has captured the award, which was introduced last year. More than 3.3 million votes were cast, up from 800,000 in 2004.
Rivera received 36.3 percent of the votes cast, easily beating out Houston's Brad Lidge (18.3 percent) and Milwaukee's Derrick Turnbow (14.5 percent).
Last season, Rivera received 28.5 percent of the vote, beating out Lidge, Boston's Keith Foulke and Los Angeles' Eric Gagne. He received the award in an on-field ceremony in April.
"That means a lot, that the fans responded like they did," Rivera said, after receiving the award. "It means they're following the game, following me. I'm pleased and grateful to be recognized with the award."
Rivera held opposing hitters to a .177 average, allowing just two home runs in his 71 appearances. He was particularly lethal on the road, limiting opponents to a .121 average.
Rivera is one of three Yankees players to win a This Year in Baseball Award, as Alex Rodriguez won for the top single-game performance and Robinson Cano won for being the top rookie.
MLB.com started the This Year in Baseball Awards back in 2002 to give fans the opportunity to express their opinions on the top players, managers and moments from each season.
The voting for this year's awards began on Oct. 31 and concluded Dec. 9 at midnight ET, and were announced live on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Awards are presented to winners during pregame, on-field ceremonies early the following season.
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
NEW YORK -- Most closers generally have trouble sustaining their dominance over a long period of time, flaming out after a few good years.
Then again, Mariano Rivera isn't most closers.
The seven-time All-Star had what some believe was the finest season of his career in 2005, posting 43 saves and a 1.38 ERA in his ninth year as the Yankees' closer. For his efforts, Rivera was voted the Closer of the Year as part of MLB.com's This Year in Baseball Awards.
This marks the second consecutive season in which Rivera has captured the award, which was introduced last year. More than 3.3 million votes were cast, up from 800,000 in 2004.
Rivera received 36.3 percent of the votes cast, easily beating out Houston's Brad Lidge (18.3 percent) and Milwaukee's Derrick Turnbow (14.5 percent).
Last season, Rivera received 28.5 percent of the vote, beating out Lidge, Boston's Keith Foulke and Los Angeles' Eric Gagne. He received the award in an on-field ceremony in April.
"That means a lot, that the fans responded like they did," Rivera said, after receiving the award. "It means they're following the game, following me. I'm pleased and grateful to be recognized with the award."
Rivera held opposing hitters to a .177 average, allowing just two home runs in his 71 appearances. He was particularly lethal on the road, limiting opponents to a .121 average.
Rivera is one of three Yankees players to win a This Year in Baseball Award, as Alex Rodriguez won for the top single-game performance and Robinson Cano won for being the top rookie.
MLB.com started the This Year in Baseball Awards back in 2002 to give fans the opportunity to express their opinions on the top players, managers and moments from each season.
The voting for this year's awards began on Oct. 31 and concluded Dec. 9 at midnight ET, and were announced live on MLB.com at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Awards are presented to winners during pregame, on-field ceremonies early the following season.
Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/
