2009 American League Cy Young Candidates
Contenders Include Zack Greinke, C.C. Sabathia and Mariano Rivera
Sep 20, 2009
Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
Zack Greinke has had a marvelous season. He leads all American League starting pitchers in ERA (2.14) and WHIP (1.065). Greinke is also a strikeout machine who does not walk a lot of batters, something every manager would kill for in a starting pitcher. His 224 K’s rank second in the AL, and he’s walked only 44 batters in 201 innings, which gives him the second best K/BB ratio in the league (5.09/1).
The only strike against Zach is his 14 wins, well shy of Sabathia’s 18 and Hernandez’s 16. But the Royals stink, and that is not Zack’s fault. Their lack of offense has robbed the 25-year old of a ton of wins. In fact, Greinke has made 10 quality starts this season during which he lost 5 games and received 5 no decisions. Had he received even minimal run support, it’s conceivable that his record would be closer to, oh, 20-5. With those numbers, he would be a shoo-in for the Cy Young.
C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
Nobody had a bigger spotlight on him this spring that Carsten Charles “C.C.”” Sabathia. During the winter, C.C. signed the richest contract ever for a pitcher (in excess of $160 million). During the first two months of the season, however, Sabathia seemed like he may not be able to live up to the contract or to the remarkable down-the-stretch performance he had last year with Milwaukee.
But as the weather warmed, so did CC. Since the All-Star break, Sabathia is 10-1. In August and September, he is 8-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Overall, the big lefty is 18-7 (most wins in the AL) with a 3.31 ERA. CC also leads the AL in Games Started and Innings Pitched. For a team like the Yankees, who couldn’t seem to get a starter to last more than a few innings in 2008, Sabathia has been worth the money. But is he worthy of the coveted award for best pitcher?
Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
Prior to this season, Felix Hernandez had shown Cy Young potential. This year, at the ripe old age of 23, he is a legitimate Cy Young candidate. He ranks second in wins (16), second in ERA (2.46), fourth in WHIP (1.142), and fourth in strikeouts (196). He’s also had seven quality starts in which he received no decision. Just a few wins in those games and he could be the frontrunner. He will still place in the top 3 or 4 come November.
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
Even with the blown save on September 18th against Seattle, which came by way of an Ichiro walk-off home run by the way, Rivera still deserves to be in the debate. He is the best closer in the American League. Of this there is no doubt, no contest, and no argument. Mo ranks third in saves with 40, just three behind the Angels Brian Fuentes. He also leads all closers in ERA (1.94), WHIP (0.91), and strikeout to walk ratio (6.0 to 1). Oh, and he’s blown a mere two saves.
The long and short of it is this: when Rivera is right, the Yankees only need to play eight innings. And Rivera has been right all year long. Add to this the robberies that this man has suffered in the past (1996 and 2005), maybe it’s time to finally recognize Rivera with the award.
Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Verlander is second in wins (16), first in strikeouts (245). His 9 losses and 3.44 ERA cut against him, of course, but if he can win his last 2 or 3 starts, Verlander could be right up there.
There are others, of course, who deserve mention: Minnesota closer Joe Nathan has pitched almost as well as Rivera. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Jonathan Papelbon have all pitched very well for the Bosox. Jered Weaver has been integral to the Angels success, but his overal statistics (15-7, 3.87 ERA, 168 strikeouts), while impressive, don't measure up to the rest of the hurlers on this list.
The race isn't over. In fact, the Cy Young winner will utlimately be determined by which of these guys has the most dominant starts in the last wto weeks of the season. Should Greinke stumble while Sabathia wins 20, the latter will probably win. However, as all baseball fans know, anything can happen, especially when it comes to subjective votes of (often) biased baseball writers.
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