What is the Cy Young Award?
A History of Baseball's Award Given Annually To Its Top Pitchers
Named after the pioneering pitcher from the turn of last century, the Cy Young Award is an award given each fall to the best MLB pitchers.
Shorty after Cy Young passed away on November, 1955, then-baseball commissioner, Ford C. Frick, announced that baseball was creating a new award to be handed out each season to Major League Baseball's best pitcher. The award would be named the Cy Young Award after the recently deceased hurler whose 511 wins were by far the most in baseball history. From 1956 through 1966, only one award was given out annually for the best overall pitching performance among the two major leagues. Beginning in 1967, however, and continuing to the present day, the MLB began presenting two Cy Young Awards annually, one for the best pitching performance in the American League and one for the National League, respectively. Here is a rundown of the first Cy Young Winner, the pitchers with the most Cy Young Awards, and those winners who distinguished themselves in in some other very important ways.
The First Cy Young Award Winner
During the 1956 baseball season, one pitcher stood out head and shoulders above the rest. That man was Don Newcombe who won 27 games that season while losing only 6. "Nuke", as he was called by the media and fans alike, also had a 3.04 ERA (a full point lower than the Major League average for that year) and a WHIP of 0.989. Nuke led the Dodgers to a National League pennant and also took home the National League MVP award that season, beating out such legends as Hank Aaron, Stan Musial and Warren Spahn.
Pitcher Who Has Won The Most Cy Young Awards
Roger Clemens is the all-time leader for the number of Cy Young Awards won during his career. He first earned the award while pitching for the Boston Red Sox after the 1986 season, a year in which the "Rocket" went 24-4 with a 2.38 ERA and 248 strikeouts. Clemens won the prize two more times while he was in Boston, taking the trophy home in 1987 and 1991. After the 1996 season, the Red Sox told Clemens that his services were no longer desired in Boston. It was a decision the team and city will likely regret for a long, long time. Over the next eight seasons, Clemens won four more Cy Young Awards, giving him a total of 7 awards to date that he has won with 4 four different teams. Most baseball experts agree that neither of these records will ever be broken.
Other Pitchers Who've Won the Award Three or More Times
Randy Johnson - 5 (AL winner in 1997, NL winner from 1999-2002)
Greg Maddux - 4 (NL winner from 1992-1995)
Steve Carlton - 4 (NL winner in 1972, '77, '80 and '82)
Sandy Koufax - 3 (ML winner in 1963, '65 and '66)
Pedro Martinez - 3 (NL winner in 1997, AL winner in 1999 and 2000)
Jim Palmer - 3 (AL winner in 1973, '75 and '76)
Tom Seaver - 3 (NL winner in 1969, '73 and '75)
Pitchers Who've Won the Cy Young Award and MVP in the Same Season
1956 - Don Newcombe (ML Cy Young and NL MVP)
1963 - Sandy Koufax (ML Cy Young and NL MVP)
1968 - Denny McClain (AL Cy Young and AL MVP)
1968 - Bob Gibson (NL Cy Young and NL MVP)
1971 - Vida Blue (AL Cy Young and NL MVP)
1982 - Rollie Fingers (AL Cy Young and AL MVP)
1984 - Willie Hernandez (AL Cy Young and AL MVP)
1986 - Roger Clemens (AL Cy Young and AL MVP)
1992 - Dennis Eckersley (AL Cy Young and AL MVP)
Best Single Season Statistics Among Cy Young Award Winners
Most Wins- Denny McClain - 31 (in 1968 for the AL Detroit Tigers)
Strikeouts - Sandy Koufax - 382 (in 1965 for the NL Dodgers)
Lowest ERA - Bob Gibson (1.12 in 1968 for NL Cardinals)
Worst Collapses the Year After Winning the Cy Young Award
Mark Davis: Davis won in 1989 while pitching for the Padres, when he went 5-2 with a 1.85 ERA and 44 saves. The next year, Davis went 2-7 with 6 saves and a 5.11 ERA.
Randy Johnson: Johnson won in 2002 when he went 24-5, 334 Ks, 2.32 in 2002 and followed it up in 2003 with a 6-8 record, 4.88 ERA , and 130 Ks. He would briefly regain his form in 2004 with the D-Backs before being traded to the Yankees in 2005 and pitching a lot like Anthony Yound.
