The Sweet Spot Awards: Part Two

PART TWO OF THREE

Cy Young

American League: Those who thought the king would relinquish his throne atop the league were sorely mistaken. In a season where six starters from the AL had at least 200 strikeouts, seven with sub-3.00 ERA and 17 with at least 200 innings pitched, only three pitchers boasted all three feats: John Lester of the Boston Red Sox/Oakland Athletics, Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

All three would have been fine recipients for the award, but King Felix is the most deserving.

All hail the King.

Hernandez had 28 more strikeouts than Lester (248 to 220), 16 1/3 more innings pitched (236 to 219.2) and allowed 24 fewer hits throughout the season (170 to 194).

Though Kluber was closer to matching Hernandez’s success than anyone in the league, he allowed 207 hits, which ranks ninth most in the league. He made up for most of them by averaging 10.27 strikeouts per game, but that awesome K/9 rate only goes so far when it comes to determining the best pitcher.

Hats off to the Cy.

Other notable pitchers who deserve recognition include Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers (252 strikeouts), Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox (2.14 ERA) and Phil Hughes of the Minnesota Twins (broke the single season record for having the largest strikeout to walk ratio).

National League: How can anyone dispute the fact that Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the best pitcher on the planet? He led the league in countless categories including ERA, runs allowed, wins, WAR, WHIP and no-hitters (technically he’s tied in this category, but his was the most impressive).

The best. 'Nuff said.

The only argument that one could have against Kershaw winning this award is the fact that he wasn’t even among the top 20 in innings pitched. While that case is valid, it almost makes Kershaw’s season seem more impressive. The fact that he gave the rest of the league a four-week head start and then dominated nonetheless justifies his case not only for Cy Young, but Most Valuable Player as well.

Adam Wainwright had a terrific season for the St. Louis Cardinals, as did Johnny Cueto for the Cincinnati Reds. There is no doubt about that. They each had 20 wins, more than 220 innings pitched and highly-respectable ERAs. However, they were in the wrong league in the wrong season.

Everybody expected Kershaw to take home the hardware this season with his killer fastball and legendary curveball, and he exceeded those expectations. Kershaw has led the league in ERA for four consecutive seasons, something that no pitcher has ever done before. At this point, it’s almost pointless to imagine anyone else taking the National League Cy Young award next season.

Kershaw after one of the most dominant no-hitters ever pitched.

In fact, I’m putting it on record:

Clayton Kershaw is the LeBron James of baseball.