Cleveland Guardians star closer Emmanuel Clase had a marvelous season.
That isn’t a secret for anybody who followed MLB this year: the guy posted an absurd 0.61 ERA and became the Guardians all-time leader in saves.
He also successfully closed out 47 games and was part of the league’s best bullpen.
No, he wasn’t at his best during the postseason but it happens from time to time, even to the very best performers.
The aforementioned accolades, stats and facts gave Clase a prestigious award on Thursday night.
“Emmanuel Clase’s dominant season in Cleveland earns him 2024 Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year honors,” MLB Network announced via X.
Emmanuel Clase’s dominant season in Cleveland earns him 2024 Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year honors. pic.twitter.com/p3pONU6X91
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 15, 2024
Among all award nominations and winners, this one was one of the easiest.
There was no one near Clase’s level of consistency and dominance.
You could very well say that his closest competitors were in the same team, as Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin also completed phenomenal campaigns.
To this day, we don’t know which of the many Clase stats was most mind-blowing: his 0.61 ERA, the fact he allowed just five earned runs in the entire regular season covering 74.1 innings, his 39 hits, or his 0.66 WHIP.
In any case, the Guardians top closer takes home a deserved award and will try to work hard in the off-season to leave behind the bittersweet taste of the postseason struggles.
In Clase, Cleveland has the best and most consistent ninth-inning weapon in baseball.
That 100-mph cutter has proven nearly impossible to solve by hitters, and as long as that’s the case, he will keep dominating.
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