Baseball Roundtable Dives into the Cy Young Award

November 14, 2019 by

The 2019 Cy Young Award Winners have been announced and, while the results we no surprise, there was at least one historically surprising stat line.

Jacob degrom photo

Photo by slgckgc

Jacob deGrom won the 2018 Cy Young Award with 10-9 record (in 32 starts), an MLB-low 1.70 earned run average and 269 strikeouts (second in the NL) in 217 innings (second in the NL).  This season, deGrom became just the eleventh MLB pitcher to win consecutive CYA’s.  And, he did it, while putting up numbers similar to his 2018 season: an 11-8 record (32 starts); a 2.43 earned run average (second in the NL); and an NL-leading 255 whiffs in 204 innings pitched (third in the NL).  DeGrom also finished second in the league in Walks and Hits Per Nine Innings (WHIP) at 0.971, fourth in K’s per nine innings (11.25) and fourth in strikeouts-versus-walks ratio (5.80).

CYANEW
hen deGrom won the 2018 Cy Young Award with a 10-9 record, it was the fewest wins ever by a starting pitcher who captured the CYA.  This season, at 11-8, he posted the second fewest wins by a starting pitcher capturing a Cy Young Award.

That Historically Surprising Stat

Only twice in MLB history has a starting pitcher captured the Cy Young Award in a season in which his team put up a negative won-lost record in the games he started.  Both times, it was Jacob deGrom – as the Mets went 14-18 in his starts in both is 2018 and 2019 CYA seasons.   For those who are interested, the Yankees went 34-5 in CYA winner Whitey Ford’s 1961 starts. 

20+

DeGrom’s 21 total victories in capturing two consecutive Cy Young Awards illustrate how the Cy Young Award voting has changed in this era of  pitch counts, bullpen games and advanced metrics.   (In addition, to the lack of run support he has received.) Still, victories remain a solid indicator of CYA success.

Justin Verlander Astros photo

Photo by KA Sports Photos

Keep in mind that the Astros’ 2019 Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander led MLB in wins with 21 – and number-two in the AL voting was his Houston teammate Gerrit Cole, who was second with 20 victories.

Verlander had only six losses this past season. His 2.58 earned run average was second in the AL; his Walks and Hits per Nine Innings (WHIP) was first in MLB at 0.83; he fanned an even 300 batters in 223 innings (leading the AL in innings pitched), while walking just 42 (for an AL-best 7.14 strikeouts-to-walks ratio).  Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays (September 1). It was his third career no-hitter – making him just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to throw three or more no-hit games. Still, the CYA voting was was no cake walk for Verlander.

The Astros’ Gerrit Cole notched twenty wins (five losses); put up the junior circuit’s lowest ERA at 2.50; and led the league (and all of MLB) with 326 strikeouts (in 212 1/3 innings). His WHIP (0.90) was second only to Verlander in MLB and he led the way in whiffs per nine innings at 13.81 (the only qualifying pitcher to top 13.00).  In strikeouts-to-walks ratio, Cole (at 6.79) finished second to Verlander in the AL.

All in all, an interesting Cy Young Award season.

Do Wins Still Count?
There have now been 118 Cy Young Award winners – and the most telling predictor of victory (historically) has been wins – 79 of those CYA recipients have won at least 20 games.    If you factor out relief pitchers who have won CYA’s (nine) and strike-shortened seasons (four), 78.2 percent of the CYA winners have been 20-game winners.  Further, between 1956 and 2009, 79.5 percent of starters winning the CYA in full seasons notched at least twenty wins.  Since 2010, that figure had dropped to 65 percent – but it is still a solid indicator.

Going a step further, seventy-four CYA winners have led their league in victories.  That’s 67.9 percent of starting pitcher winners.   That number has not changed much.  Over the past ten seasons, fourteen of the 20 CYA winner have led their league in victories (70 percent.)

We are seeing some shift.  Consider WHIP.  Between 1956 and 2009, 29 of the starting-pitcher CYA winners (32.6 percent) notched their league’s lowest Whip (Walks and Hits per Nine Innings). Over the past ten seasons, an additional ten CYA winners have led in WHIP (50 percent).  Similarly, between 1956 and 2009, 29 starting-pitcher CYA winners led their league in earned run average, while 13 of the CYA winners over the past ten season (65 percent) have posted their league’s lowest ERA.    So, yes, wins still count – but probably not a as they once did.  Yes. I do have a good grasp of the obvious – but I do like to look at the numbers. 

Now, here are a few Cy Young Award factoids:

  • The first Cy Young Award winner (1956) was Brooklyn Dodgers’ right-hander Don Newcombe, who notched a league-leading 27 wins (seven losses), with a 3.06 ERA – and also captured the NL MVP Award (one of only eleven pitchers to date to win the Cy Young and MVP in the same season).
  • From 1956 through 1966, there was only one Cy Young Award presented each season. Seven of the 11 single awards went to National League hurlers.
  • In the eleven years when only one Cy Young Award was awarded, the Dodgers brought home five – Sandy Koufax (3); Don Drysdale (1); Don Newcombe (1).
  • The first southpaw to capture the Cy Young was Warren Spahn, who, in 1957, went 21-11, 2.69 for the Milwaukee Braves.
  • The first AL CY winner was the Yankees’ (RH) Bob Turley, off a 21-7, 2.97 season in 1958.
  • The first AL left-hander to win the award was the Yankees’ Whitey Ford (25-4, 3.21 in 1961).
  • The first relief pitcher to win the award was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mike Marshall (1974). Marshall pitched in a (still) MLB-record 106 games, going 15-12, with a 2.42 ERA and a league-leading 21 saves.  Unlike today’s one-inning closers, Marshall threw a record 208 1/3 innings in relief.
  • Nine relievers have won Cy Awards: Mike Marshall (Dodgers 1974); Bruce Sutter (Cubs, 1979); Sparky Lyle (Yankees, 1977); Rollie Fingers (Brewers, 1981); Willie Hernandez (Tigers, 1984); Steve Bedrosian (Phillies, 1987); Mark Davis (Padres, 1989); Dennis Eckersley (A’s, 1992); Eric Gagne (Dodgers, 2003). Of these, only Willie Hernandez and Sparky Lyle did not lead their league in saves in their CY season.
  • Only two pitchers have won four consecutive Cy Young Awards:  Greg Maddux: 1992 (Cubs); 1993—94-95 (Atlanta Braves); and Randy Johnson: 1999-2001-02-03 (Arizona Diamond backs).
  • The oldest player to win a Cy Young Award is Roger Clemens, who claimed the prize at age 42 in 2004 (going 18-4, 2.98 for the Astros).
  • The youngest Cy Award winner is Dwight Gooden, who captured the award in 1985 (age 20), with a 24-4. 1.53 season for the Mets.
  • The only pitcher to win a Cy Young Award while playing for a last place team was the Phillies’ Steve Carlton.  In 1972, with the Phillies going a dismal 59-97, Carlton led the NL with 27 wins (versus 10 losses), while also topping the league in ERA (1.97), CG (30), innings pitched (346 1/3) and strikeouts (310).
  • The first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award with less than 20 wins was the Mets Tom Seaver in 1973 (19-10, 2.08). Seaver led the NL in ERA, strikeouts and complete games.  In the 35 seasons from 1956 to 1990, there were 13 Cy Young winners with less than 20 victories.  In the 23 seasons from 1991 to 2019, there have been 27 Cy Young Award winners with less than 20 wins.
  • There has been only one tie in Cy Young Award voting.  In 1969, the AL Cy Young Award was shared by the Tigers’ Denny McLain (24-9, 2.80) and the Orioles’ Mike Cueller (23-11, 2.38).
  • Only six times has a starting pitcher won the Cy Young without tossing a single complete game: Roger Clemens with the Yankees in 2001; Clemens again with the Astros in 2004;  Jake Peavy with the Padres in 2007; Max Scherzer with the Tigers in 2013; Blake Snell with the Rays in 2018; Jacob deGrom with the Mets in 2019.
  • The fewest wins ever by a Cy Young Award winner is two, by Dodgers’ reliever Eric Gagne, who went 2-3, 1.20 in 2003 – with a league-topping 55 saves and 137 strikeouts in 82 1/3 innings.
  • The most wins for a CYA winner goes to the Tigers’ Denny McLain, who went 31-6, 1.96 in 1968.
  • The highest-ERA ever for a CY winner was 3.51, by the Yankees’ Roger Clemens; 20-3, 3.51 in 2001).
  • The lowest ERA for a CYA winner was 1.04, by Brewers’ reliever Rollie Fingers in 1981 (6-3, 28 saves, 1.04).
  • The lowest ERA for a starting pitcher winning the CYA is 1.12, for the Cardinals’ Bob Gibson in 1968 (22-9, 1.12).
  • The only rookie to win the Cy Young Award was the Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela (13-7, 2.48 in the strike-shortened 1981 season). Valenzuela thus becomes the answer to: “Who is the only pitcher to win the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in the same season?”
  • Don Newcombe, the first CYA winner, was the first player to win the CY and league MVP in the same year (1956).  Since that time, ten more pitchers have won the CYA and MVP in the same season.
  • Roger Clemens has won the most CY Awards (7) and won for the most teams (4), and gone the longest between his first and final CYA’s (18 years).  Clemens wins: 1986 (Red Sox); 1987 (Red Sox); 1991 (Red Sox); 1997 (Blue Jays); 1998 (Blue Jays); 2001 (Yankees); 2004 (Astros).
  • The first pitcher to win a CYA in both leagues was Gaylord Perry (Indians, 1972 & Padres 1978). He has since been joined in that accomplishment by five hurlers: Randy Johnson (Mariners 1995 & Diamondbacks 1999-00-01-02); Pedro Martinez (Expos 1997 & Red Sox 1999-00); Roy Halladay (Blue Jays 2003 & Phillies 2010); Roger Clemens (Red Sox 1986-87,  1991, Blue Jays 1997-98, Yankees 2011 & Astros 2004); Max Scherzer (Tigers, 2013 & Nationals 2016-17).
  • The only brothers to both win CYA Awards are Jim Perry (1970, AL) and Gaylord Perry (1972, AL & 1978, NL).
Cy Young - Library of Congress photo.

Cy Young – Library of Congress photo.

The Cy Young Award, recognizing baseball’s best pitcher, is named in honor of right-handed hurler Denton True (Cy) Young – the “Cy” being short for his “Cyclone” nickname. Young won an MLB-record 511 games in his 22-season career (1890-1911), topping twenty wins in 15 seasons (with five of those 30+ wins).  The award was introduced in 1956 (by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick), the year after Young’s death.  For the first eleven years (1956-66), there was only one Cy Young winner and NL hurlers captured the award seven of those eleven seasons.  After Frick retired in 1967, new Commissioner William Eckert, responding to fan requests, announced that, going forward, the Cy Young Award would be presented to the top pitcher in each league.

 

Primary Resources:  Baseball-Reference.com

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