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 4th in the NL Most Valuable Player Award voting that season, behind rookie reliever Joe Black of the Dodgers. Jim Konstanty had won it for the Phillies in 1950, and Ellis Kinder had finished 7th in the AL voting in 1951, so it was a time when relief pitchers were starting to receive appreciation from the sportswriters. Wilhelm finished second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting to Joe Black. 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 Dressen did not think that any of the catchers could handle his knuckleball. The Giants renewed Wilhelm's contract in February 1954.