It’s time again for Baseball Roundtable’s Trivia(l) Tidbit Tuesday. I hope you are enjoying this weekly presentation of baseball occurrences that for some reason caught The Roundtable’s eye. (I’m particularly fond of unexpected performances and statistical coincidences.) These won’t necessarily be momentous occurrences, just events, statistics or coincidences that grabbed my attention. I’m also drawn to baseball “unicorns,” one-of-a-kind MLB accomplishments or statistics. This week, I got drawn into the Web (pun intended) of Cy Young Award trivia – triggered by the Pirates’ CYA winner Paul Skenes tying for the fewest wins ever by a starting pitcher winning the CYA (in a non-shortened season) and also becoming the first starting pitcher to capture a CYA without posting more wins than losses on the season.
The Pirates’ Paul Skenes, 2024’s NL Rookie of the Year, was unanimously selected as the 2025 NL Young Award Winner – after posting a 10-10, 1.97 record.
In addition, Tarik Skubal of the Tigers won the AL CYA with a 13-6, 2.21 record. The combined 23 wins notched by Skubal and Skenes set a new record the fewest combined wins ever by a pair of CYA winners in a (non-shortened) season. #AtBaseballRoundtableWeCountEverything.
The previous “record holders?” In 2021, CYA winners the Blue Jays’ Robbie Ray (13-7) and Brewers’ Corbin Burnes (11-5) combined for 24 wins. And, in 2003, when the NL Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne of the 2003 Dodgers went 2-3, 1.30 (55 saves), posted the fewest wins ever by a CYA winner and became the still-only only CYA winner who posted more losses than victories, AL winner Roy Hallady chipped in a 22-7 record to bring the combined total to 24.
Now, this post is all about starting pitchers who have won the Cy Young. Here are a few tidbits that jumped out at me.
- From 1956 (when the CYA was first awarded) through 1980, there were 37 CYA winners – all starting pitchers and 36 (97.3%) won at least 20 games. The lone exception was Tom Seaver, who won the 1973 NL CYA with a 19-10, 2.08 record; making him, of course, the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the first pitcher to win a CYA, while winning less than 20 games in his CYA season?”
- From 1981 through 2005 (minus the shortened seasons of 1981, 1994 and 1995), another 37 CYA winners were starting pitchers and 28 (75.7%) won at least 20 games.
- From 2006 through 2025 (minus the 2020 COVID-shortened season), starting pitchers won 38 CYA’s – and just 14 of those winners (36.8%) won at least 20 games.
- In the past five seasons, (2021-25), starting pitchers have won all ten Cy Young Awards and not one of those pitchers reached 20 wins in their CYA season.
Why this change among CYA credentials? Let’s look at just a couple of factors.
Pitcher usage is one. There just aren’t that many twenty-game winners anymore, just like there aren’t that many 250+ innings pitched seasons or any double-digit complete-game campaigns. Consider, there have been only three MLB twenty-game winners in the five seasons since 2021: Spencer Strider, Braves (20-5 in 2023); Kyle Wright, Braves (20-5 in 2022); and Julio Urias, Dodgers (20-3 in 2021). By comparison, in 1956 (the year the CYA was launched), there were nine MLB 20-game winners and in the first five years of the CYA’s existence, there were 23 20-game winners. Also, In the five seasons from 1956 through 1960, there were 51 pitcher-seasons of 250 or more innings pitched. In the most recent five MLB seasons, there were zero pitcher-seasons of 250 or more innings pitched and only 24 of 200 or more innings. And, don’t get me started on complete games.
Second, a change in baseball’s statistical menu. With the lack of “big” win totals, voters are looking more toward ERA and (some would say more advanced) stats like WHIP and WAR. Skenes finished 16th in the NL in wins, but led all MLB qualifiers in Earned Run Average (1.97) and led the NL in Walks + Hits Per Inning Pitched (0.95). Skubal finished fifth in the AL in wins, but led the AL in ERA at (2.21) and led MLB qualifiers in WHIP at 0.89. In addition, Skubal (6.5) and Skenes (7.7) were second and third in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for qualifying pitchers. Similarly, if you look at Jacob deGrom, who won the 2018 NL Cy Young Award with a 10-9 record, you’ll see that he finished tied for 22nd in the NL in wins, but led the NL in ERA (1.70), was second in the league in WHIP (0.912 to Max Scherzer’s 0.911) and was second in the league in WAR (9.4). Oh, and those three twenty-game winners over the past five seasons I mentioned earlier – Strider, Wright and Urias – finished fourth, tenth and seventh in NL CYA voting, respectively. The NL CYA winners those seasons won 14, 14 and 11 games, respectively.
How About a Trivia Question for Your Friends?
Q: There has been only one tie in the voting for the Cy Young Award. Which two pitchers tied for the CYA? Hint: American League; one righty and one lefty.
A: In 1969, he Tigers’ Denny McLain (23-9, 2.80) and Orioles’ Mike Cueller (23-11, 2.38) each got ten out of possible 24 votes (voters cast a vote for just one pitcher). The following season, a ranked voting system was adopted.
A few other tidbits, many of which you may already know.
- The first MLB CYA winner was the Dodgers’ Don Newcombe (27-7, 3.06 in 1956).
- Only one CYA was awarded from 1956 through 1966.
- Roger Clemens has won the most Cy Young Awards (seven) 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004. He won 20 or more games in five of those seven seasons.
- Juan Marichal had three seasons of 25 or more wins (1963, 1966 and 1968) and, in those seasons, never got a single CYA vote. He had three additional seasons of 20 or more wins and never got a CYA vote in those. The Hall of Famer and ten-time All Star, in fact, only got one CYA vote in his 16-season career and it was not a first-place vote (1971, when Marichal finished tied for eighth in the NL CYA balloting). Ironically, he received MVP votes in eight seasons. The CYA winners Marichal lost to: Sandy Koufax (three times), Bob Gibson, Dean Chance, Tom Seaver.
- Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux share the record for consecutive CYA seasons at four. Maddux 1992-95, Johnson 1999-2002. They each won 20 or more games in two of their four consecutive CYA campaign.
A Change of Scenery
In 1984, right-hander Rick Sutcliffe started the season 4-5, 5.15 in 15 starts for the Indians. In mid-June, he was sent to the Cubs as part of a multi-player trade. With the Cubs, he went 16-1, 2.69 in 20 starts – earning the NL Cy Young Award – and unicorn status as the only player to win a Cy Young Award during a season during which he was traded, as well as the only pitcher to pitch in both the NL and AL in a season in which he won a Cy Young Award. (NL CYA voters did not hold those 15 AL starts against him.)
- Dwight Gooden, 1985 Mets, is MLB’s youngest-ever Cy Young Award winner (20 years-324 days-old at the end of the 1985 season.
- Roger Clemens, 2004 Astros) is the oldest Cy Young Award winner, 2004 Astros, 42 years/60 days old at the end of the 2004 season. Notably, 41-year-old Randy Johnson finished second and would have been the oldest CYA winner if not for Clemens. Apparently, it was an “Old Guys Rule” kind of season.
- It was 18 seasons (1986-2004) between Roger Clemens’ first and final Cy Young Awards (an MLB record).
- To date, nine relief pitchers have won a CYA (no relief pitcher is a multiple winner).
Oh, What A Relief It is.
In 1974, the Dodgers’ Mike Marshall became the first relief pitcher to win a Cy Young Award. That season, Marshall appeared in a still MLB-record 106 games (all in relief) – going 15-12, 2.42, with a league-leading 21 saves. He threw a still-record 208 1/3 innings in relief. He pitched more than one inning in 74 games and three or more innings in 22.
Primary Resource: Baseball-Reference.com
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