Now that the regular 2011 major league baseball season is winding down (this article was written September 15, 2011), it is time to consider who will be the NL Cy Young Award winner.
But, first things first. What is the Cy Young Award?
According to Wikipedia, “The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American and National leagues. Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick first introduced the award in 1956 in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. The award was originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, but in 1967, after the retirement of Frick, the award was given to one pitcher in each league.
Each league’s award is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, with two representatives from each team, which means 28 ballots are cast for the American League winner, and 32 ballots are cast for the National League.”
The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), more often than not, reviews “galmour” numbers when selecting a Cy Young award winner. These numbers are wins, earned run average (ERA), strikeouts and, to a lesser extent, innings pitched.
Also, the BBWAA doesn’t always vote for the BEST pitcher in the league. A pitcher who is on a division winning, wild card team, or at least a winning team has a much better chance of receiving the Cy Young Award than a pitcher who is playing for a losing team.
Here are my three front-runners for the 2011 Cy Young Award. I have broken the pitchers’ glamour statistics down to wins (W), ERA, strikeouts (K) and innings pitched (IP).
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers:
Wins: 19 ERA:2.30 K: 236 IP:218.2
Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks:
Wins: 19 ERA: 2.99 K:182 IP:182
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies:
Wins: 18 ERA:2.34 K:211 IP:219.2
While Kennedy and Halladay are having outstanding seasons, I think that Kershaw deserves the award. Both Kennedy and Halladay are playing on good teams currently leading their divisions. Kershaw is playing for a team currently in third place in the National League West, with a record of 73-75, a .493 winning percentage.. Without Kershaw, the Dodgers’ record is 54-71 (a .432 winning percentage). That’s a .61 percentage difference. Kershaw is tied for first in wins in the NL (with Kennedy), and first in the league in ERA, Ks, and second in the league in IP, with 218.2.
The BBWAA has given the Cy Young Award in the very recent past to two pitchers who toiled on mediocre teams. I think they should look at the individual pitcher’s statistics, not the team’s standing in the league, when they judge who should be the Cy Young Award winner.
Wikipedia Cy Young Award Definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Young_Award
ESPN.com 2010 Major League Pitching Statistics as of October 3, 2010
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/league/nl/sort/thirdInnings
Major League Baseball Standings as of September 15, 2011:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/standings