Many pitchers made their case in a wide-open AL Cy Young race this season. However, there are certain realities when it comes to the voters, so this really boils down to three candidates:
CC Sabathia
Case for » Well it’s hard to argue with a winner. Sabathia leads the AL with 21 wins — with one possible start remaining — and no one can catch him. He has proved to be a gamer in the clutch and is second in the league in innings pitched.
Case against » The win is not the strongest indicator of a pitcher’s performance. The stat shows that Sabathia pitches well enough for the Yankees’ offense to carry him on days where he’s less sharp.
Felix Hernandez
Case for » There’s only one major category he doesn’t lead in the AL: wins. He’s first in ERA (2.27), quality starts (30), innings (249.2), strikeouts (232) and batting average against (.212). He leads Sabathia by 12 innings pitched despite having the same number of starts.
Case against » His team stinks, and his record is mediocre (13-12). Major awards tend to go to players on winning teams, though the trend last season showed voters aren’t only looking at the win column.
David Price
Case for » He has helped keep his team in front of the Yankees in the difficult AL East and has 19 wins so far. With the division race likely headed to the final games of the season, his big performances will be fresh in voters’ minds.
Case against » He has made 31 starts (vs. 34 for the AL leaders) and doesn’t lead a single statistical category. He’s also under 200 strikeouts (187), which isn’t as dominant as you would like for a power pitcher winning a major award.
The verdict
The voters were correct last year in ignoring win totals — naming Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum the Cy Young winners in both leagues. They would be wise to do so again. Hernandez’s team stunk, and his individual numbers are as good as any winner in the AL in the last 30 years.
