Since 1967, only four AL relief pitchers have been awarded the Cy Young.

In this brief window between the regular season and post-season play, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) gather to vote on several awards to recognize individual achievement in both leagues. These awards include the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year and the Cy Young Award. The winners are announced after the World Series.

The only performance award in baseball named after a player, Cy Young won a staggering 511 games in his 22-year major league career. It is an achievement that will never be surpassed let alone approached. With regard to this year's American League Cy Young Award, if I were a member of the BBWAA, I would cast my ballot for New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera.

As it happens, Rivera is on the cover of this week's issue of Sports Illustrated and is the subject of a feature article by Tom Verducci, a member of the BBWAA. Reflecting on Rivera's accomplishments this season, Verducci writes:

Rivera enters October at the top of his game . . . This year, at 39, he set a personal record with 36 consecutive converted save chances and, at week's end, had allowed three earned runs since June 16, a 38-game span in which hitters have batted .153 against him. He has been successful in 83 of 86 saves opportunities at ages 38 and 39.

And while Verducci describes Rivera as "both the sine qua non of New York's dynasty and the franchise's hope to return to glory," he makes no mention of Rivera as a possible Cy Young candidate. In fact, the only mention Verducci makes of Cy Young is when he notes that Rivera has the chance to join him and knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm as the only pitchers in major league history with an earned run average (ERA) below 2.00 with at least 70 innings pitched. Rivera finished the season with 66 1/3 innings pitched.

In those 66 plus innings, the case for Rivera as the AL Cy Young Award is a strong one.  His 44 saves rank him third in the AL. While Brian Fuentes of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim led the league with 48, his ERA was 3.93, an astronomical sum for closer. At 1.76, Rivera's ERA is two runs lower. With 72 strikeouts this season, Rivera is averaging more than a strikeout for every inning he pitches. This is an astonishing feat for someone who turns 40 next month. Ask any AL hitter which of the two closers they would rather face in the 9^th inning. One would be hard pressed to name a batter who would rather face Rivera.

However, the Cy Young is traditionally awarded to a starting pitcher. After all, they log more innings, win more games and their ERA is statistically more significant. Since 1967, only four AL relief pitchers have been awarded the Cy Young. The last to earn the honor was Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland Athletics in 1992. The best showing Rivera had in the Cy Young vote was in 2005 when he finished runner up in the balloting to Bartolo Colon, then with the Angels. Rivera has also finished third in the balloting on three occasions (1996, 1999 and 2004.) 

While there is no clear frontrunner in the AL Cy Young race, Rivera faces some stiff competition from several top AL starters. After all, no starting pitcher won 20 games this season, a standard benchmark for Cy Young consideration. His Yankees teammate C.C. Sabathia (who won the AL Cy Young in 2007 while with the Cleveland Indians) won 19 games this season as did Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers. Verlander also led the AL in strikeouts with 269.

Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals will also get strong consideration. While Greinke's 16 wins is relatively low for a starting pitcher his team happens to be the worst in the AL. If Greinke were pitching on the Yankees he would very likely have more than 20 wins. His 2.16 ERA also led the AL. While Rivera's was technically lower it must be remembered that Greinke pitched nearly 230 innings in 2009. Rivera would have to log nearly another 100 innings to be eligible for the AL ERA title. The Royals ace also finished second in the AL with 242 strikeouts. Yet don't count out either 19-game winner Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners or 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays as possible Cy Young candidates.

But what could put Rivera over the top might be the same thing that earns his longtime Yankees teammate Derek Jeter his first American League MVP – the lifetime achievement award argument. Allen Barra of The Wall Street Journal made his case for Jeter in a recent article titled, "The Case for Derek Jeter, MVP."

Barra argues that if the Motion Picture Academy gave Paul Newman a Best Actor Oscar for The Color of Money then why not bestow Jeter with the AL MVP despite his relatively modest statistics in 2009. But he also asked his readers to consider the following:

Winning and consistency have been Mr. Jeter's trademarks throughout his 14 seasons as a Yankee starter. He's been the linchpin for six pennant and four World Series winners. The Yankees have been the winningest team in baseball since he was given the shortstop's job, and are the odds-on favorites to go all the way this year.

Yet the same argument could also be made for Rivera. Where would the Yankees be if they didn't have Rivera closing games all of these years? Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who has been teammates with both Jeter and Rivera their entire careers, told Verducci, "Without Mo, I don't think we win four championships. Maybe two." If Jeter's lifetime of consistency warrants this year's AL MVP then surely Rivera's lifetime of indispensability should earn him this year's AL Cy Young.