Braves closer Craig Kimbrel is the Delivery Man of the Year as the majors’ top reliever in 2013, the first Atlanta pitcher to win the award in its nine-year history.
The flamethrower from Hunstville, Ala., led the National League with 50 saves in 54 opportunities and had a 1.21 ERA and .166 opponents’ batting average, with 98 strikeouts and 20 walks in 67 innings.
Kimbrel tied for the major league saves lead and became the 11th different pitcher to collect 50 saves in a season and the youngest (25) to accomplish the feat. The only other Braves pitcher to have a 50-save season was John Smoltz, who set a then-National League record with 55 in 2002.
Kimbrel tied the Mets’ Matt Harvey for fourth in the NL Cy Young Award balloting and was the only non-starter among the 10 NL pitchers who received votes. Kimbrel is expected to get a raise from $655,000 in 2013 to about $7 million for 2014, which would be a record salary for a reliever in his first year of arbitration.
A three-time NL All-Star and the first pitcher with at least 40 saves in each of his first three full seasons, Kimbrel converted a franchise-record 37 consecutive saves from May 9 through Sept. 14, posting a 0.38 ERA while allowing two runs in 47 appearances in that stretch. He bettered Smoltz’s previous franchise record of 27 consecutive saves.
Kimbrel was the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year, and this year he became the second-youngest to record 100 career saves, behind Francisco Rodriguez (24).
