Who would have thought Clayton Kershaw would have won the NL Cy Young Award? I mean, he only won the pitching triple crown and all. It's not like he played for a contending team.
Look at the overall results:
- Clayton Kershaw: 207 points (27 first place votes)
- Roy Halladay: 133 points (4 first place votes)
- Cliff Lee: 90 points
- Ian Kennedy: 76 points (1 first place vote)
- Cole Hamels: 17 points
- Tim Lincecum: 7 points
- Yovanni Gallardo: 5 points
- Matt Cain: 3 points
- John Axford: 2 points
- Craig Kimbrel: 1 point
- Madison Bumgarner: 1 point
- Ryan Vogelsong: 1 point
Clayton deserves the award, clearly. What I'm surprised with is the fact that it wasn't unanimous. Roy Halladay is a great pitcher, but Kershaw won more games with less support, striking out more batters and had a lower ERA. Ian Kennedy won 21 games, but he did it with a good team behind him - he's no better than fourth in any meaningful statistic.
Also of note - four Giants pitchers are on the list. It's testament to the fact that the Giants are as good as they are because of the pitching, and if they could get the hitting in order, they could be good for several more years (provided they keep the rotation and keep it healthy). Granted, I won't be able to follow the Giants as closely next year. I'll become a Yomiuri Giants or Yakult Swallows fan (the two closest teams).
And of course, Halladay, Lee, and Hamels are all Phillies, and Gallardo and Axford are Brewers. No World Series Champion Cardinals pitchers are on the list.
All that remains for the awards season are the two MVP awards, and the Edgar Martinez Award for designated hitters.
No comments:
Post a Comment