Cy Young Award

The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitcher 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 two representatives from each team, which means 28 ballots are cast for the American League winner, and 32 ballots are cast for the National League.^[1] Each voter places a vote for first, second, and third 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 1970 season. Before that, writers only voted for the best pitcher and used a formula of one point per vote.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Key 3 Winners 3.1 Major Leagues combined (1956–1966) 3.2 National League (1967–present) 3.3 American League (1967–present) 3.4 Multiple winners 4 Notes 5 References

History

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 pitchers 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 award would be given out both in the American and National Leagues.^[1] From 1956 to 1958, a pitcher was not allowed to win the award on more than one occasion; that rule was lifted 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 still in use.^[1]

The first recipient of the award was Don Newcombe, and the most recent winners were Tim Lincecum, from the National League, and Cliff Lee, from the American League.^[4][1] 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 became the oldest pitcher to receive the award, only to have the record broken in 2004 by Roger Clemens.^[1]

Key

Year	Each year is linked to an article about that year in baseball
ERA	Earned run average

Winners

Major Leagues combined (1956–1966)

Year	Pitcher	Team	Record[B]	Saves[C]	ERA
1956	Don Newcombe	Brooklyn Dodgers (NL)	27–7	0	3.06
1957	Warren Spahn	Milwaukee Braves (NL)	21–11	3	2.69
1958	Bob Turley	New York Yankees (AL)	21–7	1	2.97
1959	Early Wynn	Chicago White Sox (AL)	22–10	0	3.17
1960	Vern Law	Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)	20–9	0	3.08
1961	Whitey Ford	New York Yankees (AL)	25–4	0	3.21
1962	Don Drysdale	Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)	25–9	1	2.84
1963	Sandy Koufax	Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)	25–5	0	1.88
1964	Dean Chance	Los Angeles Angels (AL)	20–9	4	1.65
1965	Sandy Koufax	Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)	26–8	2	2.04
1966	Sandy Koufax	Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)	27–9	0	1.73

National League (1967–present)

Year	Pitcher	Team	Record[B]	Saves[C]	ERA
1967	Mike McCormick	San Francisco Giants	22–10	0	2.85
1968	Bob Gibson	St. Louis Cardinals	22–9	0	1.12
1969	Tom Seaver	New York Mets	25–7	0	2.21
1970	Bob Gibson	St. Louis Cardinals	23–7	0	3.12
1971	Ferguson Jenkins	Chicago Cubs	24–13	0	2.77
1972	Steve Carlton	Philadelphia Phillies	27–10	0	1.98
1973	Tom Seaver	New York Mets	19–10	0	2.08
1974	Mike Marshall	Los Angeles Dodgers	15–12	21	2.42
1975	Tom Seaver	New York Mets	22–9	0	2.38
1976	Randy Jones	San Diego Padres	22–14	0	2.74
1977	Steve Carlton	Philadelphia Phillies	23–10	0	2.64
1978	Gaylord Perry	San Diego Padres	21–6	0	2.73
1979	Bruce Sutter	Chicago Cubs	6–6	37	2.22
1980	Steve Carlton	Philadelphia Phillies	24–9	0	2.34
1981	Fernando Valenzuela	Los Angeles Dodgers	13–7	0	2.48
1982	Steve Carlton	Philadelphia Phillies	23–11	0	3.11
1983	John Denny	Philadelphia Phillies	19–6	0	2.37
1984	Rick Sutcliffe	Chicago Cubs	16–1	0	2.69
1985	Dwight Gooden	New York Mets	24–4	0	1.53
1986	Mike Scott	Houston Astros	18–10	0	2.22
1987	Steve Bedrosian	Philadelphia Phillies	5–3	40	2.83
1988	Orel Hershiser	Los Angeles Dodgers	23–8	1	2.26
1989	Mark Davis	San Diego Padres	4–3	44	1.85
1990	Doug Drabek	Pittsburgh Pirates	22–6	0	2.76
1991	Tom Glavine	Atlanta Braves	20–11	0	2.55
1992	Greg Maddux	Chicago Cubs	20–11	0	2.18
1993	Greg Maddux	Atlanta Braves	20–10	0	2.36
1994	Greg Maddux	Atlanta Braves	16–6	0	1.56
1995	Greg Maddux	Atlanta Braves	19–2	0	1.63
1996	John Smoltz	Atlanta Braves	24–8	0	2.94
1997	Pedro Martínez	Montreal Expos	17–8	0	1.90
1998	Tom Glavine	Atlanta Braves	20–6	0	2.47
1999	Randy Johnson	Arizona Diamondbacks	17–9	0	2.49
2000	Randy Johnson	Arizona Diamondbacks	19–7	0	2.64
2001	Randy Johnson	Arizona Diamondbacks	21–6	0	2.49
2002	Randy Johnson	Arizona Diamondbacks	24–5	0	2.32
2003	Éric Gagné	Los Angeles Dodgers	2–3	55	1.20
2004	Roger Clemens	Houston Astros	18–4	0	2.98
2005	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	21–5	0	2.83
2006	Brandon Webb	Arizona Diamondbacks	16-8	0	3.10
2007	Jake Peavy	San Diego Padres	19–6	0	2.54
2008	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	18–5	0	2.62

American League (1967–present)

Year	Pitcher	Team	Record[B]	Saves[C]	ERA
1967	Jim Lonborg	Boston Red Sox	22–9	0	3.16
1968	Denny McLain	Detroit Tigers	31–6	0	1.96
1969	Mike Cuellar Denny McLain	Baltimore Orioles Detroit Tigers	23–11 24–9	0 0	2.38 2.80
1970	Jim Perry	Minnesota Twins	24–12	0	3.04
1971	Vida Blue	Oakland Athletics	24–8	0	1.82
1972	Gaylord Perry	Cleveland Indians	24–16	1	1.92
1973	Jim Palmer	Baltimore Orioles	22–9	1	2.40
1974	Catfish Hunter	Oakland Athletics	25–12	0	2.49
1975	Jim Palmer	Baltimore Orioles	23–11	1	2.09
1976	Jim Palmer	Baltimore Orioles	22–13	0	2.51
1977	Sparky Lyle	New York Yankees	13–5	26	2.17
1978	Ron Guidry	New York Yankees	25–3	0	1.74
1979	Mike Flanagan	Baltimore Orioles	23–9	0	3.08
1980	Steve Stone	Baltimore Orioles	25–7	0	3.23
1981	Rollie Fingers	Milwaukee Brewers	6–3	28	1.04
1982	Pete Vuckovich	Milwaukee Brewers	18–6	0	3.34
1983	LaMarr Hoyt	Chicago White Sox	24–10	0	3.66
1984	Willie Hernández	Detroit Tigers	9–3	32	1.92
1985	Bret Saberhagen	Kansas City Royals	20–6	0	2.87
1986	Roger Clemens	Boston Red Sox	24–4	0	2.48
1987	Roger Clemens	Boston Red Sox	20–9	0	2.97
1988	Frank Viola	Minnesota Twins	24–7	0	2.64
1989	Bret Saberhagen	Kansas City Royals	23–6	0	2.16
1990	Bob Welch	Oakland Athletics	27–6	0	2.95
1991	Roger Clemens	Boston Red Sox	18–10	0	2.62
1992	Dennis Eckersley	Oakland Athletics	7–1	51	1.91
1993	Jack McDowell	Chicago White Sox	22–10	0	3.37
1994	David Cone	Kansas City Royals	16–5	0	2.94
1995	Randy Johnson	Seattle Mariners	18–2	0	2.48
1996	Pat Hentgen	Toronto Blue Jays	20–10	0	3.22
1997	Roger Clemens	Toronto Blue Jays	21–7	0	2.05
1998	Roger Clemens	Toronto Blue Jays	20–6	0	2.65
1999	Pedro Martínez	Boston Red Sox	23–4	0	2.07
2000	Pedro Martínez	Boston Red Sox	18–6	0	1.74
2001	Roger Clemens	New York Yankees	20–3	0	3.51
2002	Barry Zito	Oakland Athletics	23–5	0	2.75
2003	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	22–7	0	3.25
2004	Johan Santana	Minnesota Twins	20–6	0	2.61
2005	Bartolo Colón	Los Angeles Angels	21–8	0	3.48
2006	Johan Santana	Minnesota Twins	19–6	0	2.77
2007	C.C. Sabathia	Cleveland Indians	19–7	0	3.21
2008	Cliff Lee	Cleveland Indians	22–3	0	2.54

Multiple winners

There have been 14 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 and Gaylord Perry are the only pitchers to have won the award in both the American League and National League.

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

Notes

• ^A  The formula is: Score = 5F + 3S + T, where F is the number of first place votes, S is second place votes, and T is third 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.

References

General

Specific

v • d • e Major League Baseball awards and trophies Team Commissioner's Trophy Individual Most Valuable Player · 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 · DHL Delivery Man of the Year · League Championship Series MVP