Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is now the exclusive business and homeowners insurance of Major League Baseball, also becoming the presenting sponsor of the sport’s Reliever of the Year Awards.
All-time saves leader Mariano Rivera, for whom the American League Reliever of the Year Award is named, will serve as national ambassador for Hartford, appearing in advertising and attending events on behalf of the company, it said in a joint news release with MLB.
“The notion of prevailing is at the core of everything we do for our customers, partners and communities,” Christopher Swift, chief executive officer of Hartford, said in a statement. “Likewise, prevailing moments are seen in every baseball game, especially when relief pitchers and closers take the mound.”
Based in the Connecticut city of the same name, Hartford also will become the exclusive benefits partner of MLB, and it will sponsor five individual teams this season and more in 2016.
The Reliever of the Year Award, named after Rivera in the AL and Trevor Hoffman in the National League, were first issued last season. Former Atlanta Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel won in the NL after a 47-save season in which his earned run average was 1.61. The Kansas City Royals’ Greg Holland took the AL award, saving 46 games with a 1.44 ERA.