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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

MLB Cy Young Award 2019: AL and NL Winners, Voting Results and Reaction - Bleacher Report

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws during the first inning of Game 6 of the baseball World Series against the Washington Nationals Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros and Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets capped off their dominant 2019 seasons by winning the American League and National League Cy Young awards, respectively. 

The voting in the AL saw Verlander receive 17 first-place votes and 171 total points to beat out Astros teammate Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton of the Tampa Bay Rays. 

Cole received the other 13 first-place votes and 159 points overall to finish second. 

Verlander is the fourth pitcher in Astros history to win the Cy Young, joining Dallas Keuchel (2015), Roger Clemens (2004) and Mike Scott (1986). 

An ageless wonder, Verlander hit another level at 36 in 2019. He led MLB with 223 innings pitched and a WHIP of 0.80, and he paced the AL with a 7.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His WHIP was the third-lowest in MLB since 1900:

It had been seven seasons since Verlander's only Cy Young win in 2011, which was also the same year he won the AL MVP award as a member of the Detroit Tigers. He was on the verge of joining an exclusive club if he had finished second in the voting yet again:

Verlander established new career benchmarks with 300 strikeouts and 5.5 hits allowed per nine innings in 2019. 

Verlander and Cole are the first pair of teammates to finish first and second in Cy Young voting since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did so for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2002.

The NL vote wasn't nearly as tight as the AL race, with deGrom cruising to his second consecutive Cy Young victory. 

DeGrom, just as he did last year, garnered 29 of 30 first-place votes and finished with 207 total points, beating out Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals and Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who received the other first-place vote

Per BBWAA.org, Ryu and Scherzer tied for second place with 72 points. Stephen Strasburg and Jack Flaherty tied for fourth place with 69 points. No other NL pitcher received more than nine points. 

Strasburg had more second-place votes (10) than anyone else, but he was hurt by not getting a first-place vote and showing up in third place on one ballot.

Repeat Cy Young winners have become standard practice in the NL, with deGrom becoming the fourth pitcher since 2008 to capture the award in back-to-back years. Tim Lincecum (2008-09), Clayton Kershaw (2013-14) and Scherzer (2016-17) are also in that group.

DeGrom is the second pitcher in Mets history to win multiple Cy Young awards. Tom Seaver did so three times in 1969, 1973 and 1975. 

Along with Pete Alonso's NL Rookie of the Year, deGrom helped the Mets pull off something they had never previously done:

In 2018, the Mets ace made history by capturing the award with just 10 victories, the fewest by a starting pitcher to win the Cy Young. He now holds the top two spots on that dubious list:

New York's offense still struggled to help deGrom in 2019—his 4.16 runs of support per game were tied for the ninth-fewest in MLB—but he remained his typically dominant self. The three-time All-Star led the NL with 255 strikeouts and 7.0 FanGraphs wins above replacement and ranked second with a 2.55 ERA.

One potential factor separating deGrom from Ryu and Scherzer in the voting was their performances after the All-Star break. Ryu had a 3.18 ERA and was limited to 12 starts in the second half due to a neck injury and general rest.

Scherzer's ERA ballooned to 4.81 after the All-Star break with as many homers allowed in 43 innings as he gave up over 129.1 innings in the first half (nine). He only made eight starts due to a strained back

DeGrom, on the other hand, allowed just over one run per start in the second half:

Factoring in the first half, deGrom didn't have an ERA over 2.92 in a single month from May through September. He allowed just five runs in five starts in September when the Mets were still fighting for a wild-card spot. 

The Mets have endured plenty of struggles over the past three seasons, but between deGrom's continued excellence and Alonso's breakout rookie campaign, their present and future look as bright as they have since reaching the World Series in 2015. 

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MLB Cy Young Award 2019: AL and NL Winners, Voting Results and Reaction - Bleacher Report
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