If Lefty Doesn’t Win the Cy Young…

…there’s something terribly flawed with the system.

Per Kenny’s article yesterday, I know there is some debate, I know there are other contenders.  So let’s look at the facts:

The Cy Young Award is given to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball – one award to the AL and one to the NL.

It is not given necessarily to a pitcher on a winning team – you don’t need to dig too deep in the record book to confirm that fact (see Felix Hernandez 2010, Zack Greinke 2009, Tim Lincecum 2008)

It is not given to the MVP – that is what the MVP Award is for (though it has happened), so the question that needs to be answered is, “who is the best pitcher in the National League?”

• Wins – Tied for 1^st place with 20 (Kershaw and Kennedy)
• Losses – Second best in the NL – Kennedy (4), Kershaw (5)
• ERA – Best in the NL (Kershaw 2.27, Cueto in 2^nd with a 2.31 ERA)
• Innings Pitched – Tied for second most in the NL (Halladay 227, Lee and Kershaw 226)
• Strikeouts – Most in the NL – (Kershaw 242, 10 ahead of Lee (who has played 1 less game) and 25 (!!) ahead of Lincecum and Halladay)

There has been a recent firestorm of articles – mostly dubbing it a race between Kershaw and Halladay.  Hallady ran away with it last year, and rightly so – but most of the “experts” are (again, rightly so) landing on Kershaw.
Radio debates across the country are adding fuel:

"What’s more important, pitching your team into the playoffs (Halladay) or pitching light’s out when there isn’t a lot to play for other than spoiling (Kershaw)?"

"Pitching for a winning team (all other potentials) or pitching on a team that has struggled (to put it mildly)?"

The answer is:  none of the above.  It’s an award for the best pitcher(s) in baseball.

I know I have been on an extended Sabbatical, but I’m back….just in time to give the 23 year old Kershaw the props he deserves & to urge the Cy Young Award voters to  live up to the award’s objective of conferring the award to the best pitchers in MLB…for the National League, that is Clayton Kershaw.