Cy Young Discussion

THIS DISCUSSION WAS MOSTLY WRITTEN BEFORE THE AWARDS ACTUALLY CAME OUT, SO THAT IS WHY IT SEEMS TO BE IN THE PAST.

Cy Young NL comes out today at 2:00 PM. So, of course, that merits discussion, as it does every year.

So lets break it down:

We can safely rule out Tim Lincecum as a contender. In the postseason, he performed brilliantly, but Adam Wainwright never got the chance. To me, and almost certainly to most other people in the Major League Baseball community, Wainwright has much more of a chance to win the coveted award than Lincecum. Wainwright had a vastly superior to that of Lincecum. His pitching line was better; he went 20-11 with a excellent 2.42 ERA, with 213 Ks over about 230 innings pitched. He gave up 15 home runs and walked 56 men. Lincecum went 16-10 with a 3.43 ERA, while striking out 231 batters in about 212 innings. He walked 76 batters and allowed 18 bombs. He pitched one complete game. Wainwright, on the other hand pitched 5 complete games. But there is another statistic to consider; Wainwright's middle name is Parrish, and Lincecum's is Leroy. That is a clear cut advantage for Wainwright. Ubaldo Jimenez also had a ridiculously strong year, but his second half fell well short of expectations. He could have won over 20 games with a second half as dominant as his first, but the second half dominance simply was not there. Jimenez pitched to a record of 19 and 8, finished with a 2.88 ERA with 214 Ks over about 223 innings. He walked 92 men while giving up 10 home runs; note that he pitched in Coors field, possibly the best home run yard in the game of baseball. Ubaldo pitched 4 complete games. And then...there's Roy Halladay. The consummate professional, the most composed pitcher in the major leagues besides the aforementioned Tim Lincecum, and the best pitcher in baseball, pitched to a 21-10 record and a 2.44 ERA. He struck out 219 men in 231 innings, while giving up a miniscule total of 30 walks while allowing 24 home runs. Halladay pitched a staggering 9 complete games.

So out of this group, Halladay pitched the most complete games and innings. He walked the least batters. Wainwright's ERA was the lowest, beating halladay by a hair. Jimenez walked the most batters, and Halladay gave up more home runs than anyone else, although over more innings. Lincecum struck out the most batters. Halladay also lead in wins, and Wainwright led in losses.

So who would you yourself vote for?

It doesn't matter what you think anymore, everyone, the stuff came out. Roy Halladay, certainly the most dominant player in the league over the course of the year, won the award. He adds this accolade to his collection, and it joins his second Cy Young trophy on the mantle over the fireplace. He also pitched a perfect game against the Marlins during the year, and in one of the more storied and fantastic achievements of our time, he threw a postseason no hitter against the vaunted Cincinnati Reds lineup. Halladay is perfectly deserving of this honor, but some credit should be given to the other contenders; it was the year of the pitcher, after all, not the year of Roy Halladay.

Cheers,

Harry Bro

Boston Sports Junior

Statistics sourced from espn.com

News sourced from MLB.Com