The prestigious Dennis Eckersley Award, named after the former Vancouver and Toledo star pitcher who dominated in the early 1990s, is given to the most astounding Relief Pitcher in the DMBL. A series of points are given to score a reliever's Eckersley standings. Two points are awarded for each save and each victory earned in relief and one point is subtracted for each blown save and each loss.

And the award goes to....

Francisco Rodriguez, Philadelphia Endzone Animals

For the second straight year, "K-Rod" earned the Eck Award. In addition to leading the league in relief points (65), he also led the league with 34 saves and an .850 save percentage; he was tied for second in save opportunities (40). Rodriguez is the second player to win the award in back-to-back years, joining Newark's John Smoltz, who won it in 2003 and 2004. (Newark's John Wetteland technically also won it in consecutive years -- 1996 and 1998 -- because no award was given out in '97, as blown save data wasn't kept.)

Last year, Rodriguez had the same number of saves, wins and losses, but one fewer blown save (5) to finish with 66 relief points. Still, it's tough to argue that he didn't have a better year this season -- he had a 2.77 ERA, 10.4 R/9 and .637 OPS allowed, compared to 3.38, 11.4 and .676 last year... When he won it in 2006, Rodriguez was the youngest player ever to do it; now he's 25, so he's caught up to Rod Beck, who was 25 when he won it in 1994.

Rodriguez was initially drafted as an ineligible prospect by Columbia in 2003 with their second-round pick (#21 overall), but they inexplicably released him just two months into the season to make room for Sidney Ponson. The following year, his stock actually improved, as he was drafted with the 20th pick overall by the Endzone Animals, where he's remained ever since. He spent his first two years as a setup man, first for Danny Kolb and then Armando Benitez, until finally becoming the full-time closer in 2006, and winning the Eck. How many more of these things will he take home?

Rodriguez battled Vancouver's Billy Wagner throughout the second half, and the two entered the final week with K-Rod up by just a single relief point. But while Wagner, who won the award in 2000, could only get into one game (and picked up the save) for the slumping Iron Fist, Rodriguez went a perfect 3-for-3 in saves to cruise to victory. For the second straight year, Marietta's Mariano Rivera -- who won it in 2001 and 1999 -- finished in third place. Newark rookie Cla Meredith was 9th in saves, but 4th in relief points thanks to his 11 wins.

Final Relief Points Standings
Reliever	ERA	W	SV	L	BS	Pts
F.Rodriguez,PHI	2.77	4	34	5	6	65
B.Wagner,VAN	3.25	5	33	7	9	60
M.Rivera,MAR	3.07	6	27	4	7	55
Meredith,NWK	1.95	11	19	4	8	48
Otsuka,SAR	2.20	9	18	3	5	46
Fuentes,CAR	2.43	3	29	8	11	45
Rincon,HBK	4.53	2	24	9	5	38
Gordon,HON	5.50	7	21	8	11	37
Papelbon,DC	2.00	7	14	1	5	36
Street,SB	3.73	5	23	11	12	33

The Eck Award has been presented 13 times through the years. (No award was given in 1991, 1992 or 1997, as blown save data wasn't available; no award was given in 1995 due to the strike.) Three relievers have won it twice.

Rodriguez's season wasn't one of the all-time best. Here's a look at the top seasons by relievers in DMBL history: