If the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander isn’t the unanimous choice for the 2011 Cy Young Award I’ll eat my Mets hat. I wish Verlander were wearing a Mets hat.
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 AL Cy Young Award winner.
Verlander has to be the winner. If not unanimously, then, by a wide margin.
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 (BBWAA), with two representatives from each team.”
The BBWAA, more often than not, reviews “galmour” numbers when selecting a Cy Young award winner. These numbers are wins (W), earned run average (ERA), strikeouts (K) and, to a lesser extent, innings pitched (IP).
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
Here are Verlander’s numbers, as of September 15, 2011:
Wins: 23 ERA: 2.36 K: 236 IP: 236
Verlander ranks first in the league in all these vital statistics.
As of September 15, Verlander’s team’s record was 87-62, a .584 winning percentage. Without Verlander, the team would be 64-57, for a .528 percentage. That is a .56 positive percentage point increase.
There are other AL pitchers who are having good, if not outstanding, years. But, they are not in Verlander’s “league.” These pitchers may garner some second or third place Cy Young Award votes. These pitchers include:
C. C. Sabathia, New York Yankees:
Wins:19 ERA:2.93 K:216 IP: 224.1
Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels:
Wins:17 ERA:2.40 K:188 IP:221.1
Other starting pitchers in the AL having good seasons include C.J. Wilson (Texas Rangers), Dan Haren (Los Angeles Angels), James Shields (Tampa Bay Rays), and Jon Lester (Boston Red Sox). But, none of these pitchers approach Verlander’s numbers.
Not only may Verlander win unanimously the Cy Young Award, he may be the first pitcher in 20 years to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the AL. The last pitcher to win the MVP in the AL was Dennis Eckersley in 1992.
Sources:
Wikipedia Cy Young Award Definition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Young_Award
ESPN AL Pitching Statistics, as of September 15, 2011:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/year/2011/seasontype/2/league/al
AL Standings, as of September 15, 2011:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/standings
Most Valuable Player Awards, AL:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_mvp.shtml