- Cy Young Award
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Cy Young Award 
The Cy Young AwardAwarded for Major League Baseball's Best Regular Season Pitcher Presented by Baseball Writers Association of America Country United States First awarded 1956 Currently held by Clayton Kershaw, National League
Justin Verlander, American LeagueThe Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick 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.[1][2]
Each league's award is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, with one representative from each team, which means 16 ballots are cast for the American League winner, and 16 ballots are cast for the National League.[1] As of the 2010 season, each voter places a vote for first, second, third, fourth and fifth place among the pitchers of each league. The formula used to calculate the final scores is a weighted sum of the votes.[A] The pitcher with the highest score in each league wins the award.[1] If two pitchers receive the same number of votes, the award is shared.[3] The current formula started in the 2010 season. Before that, dating back to 1970, writers voted for three pitchers, with the formula of 5 points for a first place vote, 3 for a second place vote and 1 for a third place vote. Prior to 1970, writers only voted for the best pitcher and used a formula of one point per vote.[1]
Contents
History
Cy Young, for whom the award is named
The Cy Young Award was first introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955.[1] The award would be given to pitchers only. Originally given to the single best pitcher in the major leagues, the award changed its format over time. From 1956 to 1966, the award was given to one pitcher in Major League Baseball. After Frick retired in 1967, William Eckert became the new Commissioner of Baseball. Due to fan requests, Eckert announced that the Cy Young Award would be given out both in the American League and the National League.[1] From 1956 to 1958, a pitcher was not allowed to win the award on more than one occasion; this rule was eliminated in 1959. After a tie in the 1969 voting, the process was changed, in which each writer was to vote for three different pitchers: the first-place vote received five points, the second-place vote received three points, and the third-place vote received one point, a system that is still in use.[1]
The first recipient of the Cy Young Award was Don Newcombe of the Dodgers, and the most recent winners are Clayton Kershaw, from the National League, and Justin Verlander, from the American League.[1][4] In 1957, Warren Spahn became the first left-handed pitcher to win the award. In 1963, Sandy Koufax became the first pitcher to win the award in a unanimous vote; two years later he became the first multiple winner. In 1974, Mike Marshall won the award, becoming the first relief pitcher to win the award.[1] In 1978, Gaylord Perry (age 40) became the oldest pitcher to receive the award, only to have the record broken in 2004 by Roger Clemens (age 42).[1] The youngest recipient was Dwight Gooden (age 20 in 1985).
Winners
Key
Year Each year is linked to an article about that Major League Baseball season. ERA Earned run average * Also named Most Valuable Player ** Also named Rookie of the Year 
Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Major Leagues combined (1956–1966)
Roger Clemens, seven-time winnerYear Pitcher Team Record[B] Saves[C] ERA Ks 1956 Don Newcombe* Brooklyn Dodgers (NL) 27–7 0 3.06 139 1957 Warren Spahn Milwaukee Braves (NL) 21–11 3 2.69 111 1958 Bob Turley New York Yankees (AL) 21–7 1 2.97 168 1959 Early Wynn Chicago White Sox (AL) 22–10 0 3.17 179 1960 Vern Law Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) 20–9 0 3.08 120 1961 Whitey Ford New York Yankees (AL) 25–4 0 3.21 209 1962 Don Drysdale Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 25–9 1 2.84 232 1963 Sandy Koufax* Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 25–5 0 1.88 306 1964 Dean Chance Los Angeles Angels (AL) 20–9 4 1.65 207 1965 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 26–8 2 2.04 382 1966 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) 27–9 0 1.73 317 National League (1967–present)
Greg Maddux, four-time winner
John Smoltz, one-time winner
Pedro Martínez, three-time winnerAmerican League (1967–present)
Jack McDowell, one-time winner
Barry Zito, one-time winner
Johan Santana, two-time winner
Zack Greinke, one-time winnerMultiple winners
Randy Johnson, five-time winnerThere have been 16 pitchers who have won the award multiple times. Roger Clemens currently holds the record for the most awards won, with seven. Greg Maddux (1992–1995) and Randy Johnson (1999–2002) share the record for the most consecutive awards won. Clemens, Johnson, Pedro Martínez, Gaylord Perry, and Roy Halladay are the only pitchers to have won the award in both the American League and National League; Sandy Koufax is the only pitcher who won multiple awards during the period when only one award was presented for all of Major League Baseball. Roger Clemens was the youngest pitcher to win a second Cy Young Award, while Tim Lincecum is the youngest pitcher to do so in the National League. Justin Verlander remains the last Cy Young Award winner to have won the MVP in the same season, doing so in 2011.
Pitcher # of Awards Years Roger Clemens 7 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004 Randy Johnson 5 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Steve Carlton 4 1972, 1977, 1980, 1982 Greg Maddux 4 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Sandy Koufax 3 1963, 1965, 1966 Pedro Martínez 3 1997, 1999, 2000 Jim Palmer 3 1973, 1975, 1976 Tom Seaver 3 1969, 1973, 1975 Bob Gibson 2 1968, 1970 Tom Glavine 2 1991, 1998 Denny McLain 2 1968, 1969 Gaylord Perry 2 1972, 1978 Bret Saberhagen 2 1985, 1989 Johan Santana 2 2004, 2006 Tim Lincecum 2 2008, 2009 Roy Halladay 2 2003, 2010 Unanimous winners
There have been 13 unanimous Cy Young winners in National League history.
- Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965, 1966)
- Greg Maddux (1994, 1995)
- Bob Gibson (1968)
- Steve Carlton (1972)
- Rick Sutcliffe (1984)
- Dwight Gooden (1985)
- Orel Hershiser (1988)
- Randy Johnson (2002)
- Jake Peavy (2007)
- Roy Halladay (2010)
There have been nine unanimous Cy Young winners in American League history.
- Denny McLain (1968)
- Ron Guidry (1978)
- Roger Clemens (1986, 1998)
- Pedro Martinez (1999, 2000)
- Johan Santana (2004, 2006)
- Justin Verlander (2011)
Notes
- A The formula is: Score = 7F + 4S + 3T + 2FO + 1 FI, where F is the number of first place votes, S is second place votes, T is third place votes, FO is fourth place votes and FI is fifth place votes.[1]
- a b c See: Decision (baseball)
- a b c In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. It became an official statistic in Major League Baseball in 1969.
See also
- Triple Crown (pitching)
- Pitcher of the Month
- MLB Delivery Man of the Year Award
- This Year in Baseball Awards (including starting pitcher, setup pitcher, and closer)
- Players Choice Awards Outstanding Pitcher
- Baseball Digest Pitcher of the Year
- USA Today Cy Young
- Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards Cy Young
- TSN Pitcher of the Year
- TSN Reliever of the Year
- Rolaids Relief Man Award
- Warren Spahn Award (best left-handed pitcher)
- Major League Baseball All-Century Team
- Major League Baseball All-Time Team
- "Pitching Wall of Great Achievement" (in the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame)
References
- General
- "Cy Young Award on Baseball Almanac". BaseballAlmanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_cyy.shtml. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- "Cy Young Award winners". Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/awards/mlb_awards_content.jsp?content=cy_history. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- "Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners". Baseball-Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mvp_cya.shtml. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- "Cy Young Award Winners (American League)". MSN. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwb8fdqL. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- "Cy Young Award voting results". Baseball Digest. 2004. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_11_63/ai_n6332592. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Cy Young Award on Baseball Almanac". BaseballAlmanac.com. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_cyy.shtml. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ "Cy Young Award Winners (American League)". MSN. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwb8fdqL. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "Cy Young Award voting results". Baseball Digest. 2004. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_11_63/ai_n6332592. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
- ^ "Cy Young Award winners". Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/awards/mlb_awards_content.jsp?content=cy_history. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
Major League Baseball awards and trophies Team Commissioner's Trophy (list of winners) · Warren Giles Trophy (NL pennant winners) · William Harridge Trophy (AL pennant winners)
Individual Most Valuable Player (MVP) · Cy Young · Manager of the Year · Rookie of the Year · Roberto Clemente · Hank Aaron · Gold Glove · Silver Slugger · World Series MVP · All-Star Game MVP · Rolaids Relief Man · Comeback Player of the Year · League Championship Series MVP · Major League Baseball Delivery Man AwardOther Categories:- Major League Baseball trophies and awards
- Cy Young Award winners
- Awards established in 1956
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