 Pitching exclusively in relief , Wilhelm led the NL with a 2 @.@ 43 ERA in his rookie year . He won 15 games and lost three . Wilhelm finished in the top ten in Most Valuable Player Award voting that season , becoming the first relief pitcher to finish that high . He finished second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting . Wilhelm made 69 relief appearances in 1953 , his win @-@ loss record decreased to 7 – 8 and he issued 77 walks against 71 strikeouts . Wilhelm was named to the NL All @-@ Star team that year , but he did not play in the game because team manager Charlie <unk> did not think that any of the catchers could handle his knuckleball . The Giants renewed Wilhelm 's contract in February 1954 . 
