2024 A.L. Tarik Skubal, Detroit
30 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: ERA (2.39), ERA+ (170), W (18), FIP (2.50), bWAR (6.3)
Noteworthy: Tarik Skubal’s breakthrough season was a key reason the Detroit Tigers were a surprise playoff team. Skubal’s 2.39 ERA was the lowest for a Detroit starter since Mark Fidrych in 1976. He allowed two runs or less in 24 of 31 starts. He was the 22nd in MLB history to win the pitching Triple Crown. He is the fifth Detroit pitcher to win the Cy Young Award (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Willie Hernandez, Denny McLain).
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2024 N.L. Chris Sale, Atlanta
26 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: ERA (2.38), ERA+ (174), W (18), FIP (2.09), K (225), K/9 (11.4)
Noteworthy: After earning Cy Young Award votes in seven consecutive seasons from 2012-2018, Chris Sale’s career had appeared to be diminished for good over due to multiple injuries the past five seasons. He came back in a big way earning the first full-season N.L. pitching Triple Crown since Kershaw in 2011. Sale now has eight top-six seasons in Cy voting. This is the eighth Cy Young season for a Braves pitcher (Warren Spahn ’57, Tom Glavine ’91, ’98, Greg Maddux ’93, ’94, ’95 and John Smoltz ’96).
Background resources: Baseball-reference page
2023 A.L. Gerrit Cole, New York
30 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: ERA (2.63), ERA+ (165), WHIP (0.981), IP (209), SHO (2), bWAR (7.4)
Noteworthy: Among the top pitchers in the game for several years, Cole broke through for his first Cy Young Award. With the Yankees struggling to win, Cole went 15-4 but was clearly the class of the league becoming the 25th unanimous Cy Young Award winner. He had finished second in Cy voting 2019 and 2021. Cole separated himself as the best in the league by allowing just four earned runs over his final five starts of the season. He’s the first Yankee to win the award since Clemens in 2001.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2023 N.L. Blake Snell, San Diego
28 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: ERA (2.25), ERA+ (182), bWAR (6.0)
Noteworthy: Snell went 14-9 for an underperforming Padres team and compiled some dominant and some ineffective numbers. Oddly, in both of his Cy Young Award seasons, he led the league in hits allowed per nine innings, but also ERA and ERA+ each time. He walked 99 nearly becoming the first pitcher with 100 walks in a season since 2012. He was the first pitcher to lead the AL or NL in ERA and walks. The last pitcher to lead the league in walks and win the Cy Young Award was Early Wynn in 1959. Snell pitched out of trouble consistently by having the second-highest swing-and-miss rate in the Majors (37.4%, behind Spencer Strider). Opponents batted only .180 against him with a .579 OPS, both best in the Majors. Over his final 23 starts, his ERA was 1.23 (second only to Bob Gibson’s 1968 season over as many starts). Snell is the seventh pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both the AL and NL (Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer).
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2022 A.L. Justin Verlander, Houston
30 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: Wins (18), ERA (1.75), ERA+ (220), WHIP (0.829)
Noteworthy: Verlander, 39, recovered well after missing all but three innings of 2020 and the whole 2021 season due to elbow surgery. He’s the only pitcher every to win the Cy Young Award after not pitching the previous season. Verlander’s 1.75 ERA was the lowest since Pedro Martinez posted 1.74 in 2000. It was Verlander’s third Cy Young Award (2011, 2019). He also has three second-place finishes and has earned Cy votes in 11 seasons. He is the 11th pitcher with three Cy Young Awards. With the Astros winning the World Series, Verlander became the third pitcher with at least two Cy Young awards, two no-hitters and two World Series titles. He joins Sandy Koufax and Tim Lincecum.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2022 N.L. Sandy Alcantara, Miami
30 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: IP (228.2), Complete games (6), Shutouts (1)
Noteworthy: Alcantara, in his age 26 season, his fourth as a full-time starter, became the 10th different pitcher to earn the Cy unanimously. He had the second-best ERA in the N.L. (2.28). His six complete games were more than every other team had, the first time such a feat has ever been accomplished. Alcantara had one stretch of seven or more innings pitched in 13 consecutive games. He led the league in innings by making them easy innings. He averaged an MLB-low 14.2 pitches per inning.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2021 A.L. Robbie Ray, Toronto
29 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: ERA (2.84), IP (193.1), Strikeouts (248), ERA+ (154), WHIP (1.045)
Noteworthy: Ray, a 29-year-old left-hander, had a breakout season in his first full year with Toronto. After a 6.62 ERA in the COVID-shortened 2020 season between Arizona and the Blue Jays, Ray accepted a modest 1-year, $8 million deal and delivered much more value than his salary. He is the fifth Blue Jays pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. Ray had earned Cy Young votes in 2017 while with the Diamondbacks, placing 7th.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2021 N.L. Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee
12 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: ERA (2.43), ERA+ (176), FIP (1.63), K/9 (12.6), K/BB (6.88)
Noteworthy: Burnes had the second-fewest innings (167) for a starting pitcher Cy Young Award winner in a non-shortened season. But they were dominant innings. Burnes tied Zack Wheeler with 12 first-pace votes. He had an edge in second-place votes to win the award. The 10-point margin of victory was the closest in the N.L. and tied for the fourth-closest overall since the ballot expanded from three to five pitchers in 2010. It was just the second time ever that the first-place and second-place finisher had the same number of first-place votes (winner Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers and second-place finisher Tom Seaver of the Reds each received eight in 1981). Burnes was the first Brewer Cy winner since Pete Vuckovich in 1982. He teamed with Josh Hader to pitch the first Milwaukee no-hitter since 1987. Burnes set a record with 58 strikeouts before he allowed his first walk of the season.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2020 A.L. Shane Bieber, Cleveland
30 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: Wins (8), ERA (1.63), ERA+ (281), Strikeouts (122)
Noteworthy: Bieber, a 25-year-old right-hander who placed 4th in Cy voting in 2019, won the American League pitching triple crown, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He is the first to win the pitching triple crown since Johan Santana in 2006 and the first Cleveland pitcher to do it since Bob Feller in 1940. Bieber was the seventh American League pitcher to win the Cy Young Award with a unanimous vote, and the first since Justin Verlander of Detroit in 2011. He is the fifth Indians pitcher to win the Cy, joining Gaylord Perry (1972), C.C. Sabathia (2007), Cliff Lee (2008) and Corey Kluber (2014, 2017). Bieber reached 100 strikeouts in just 62 1/3 innings, the fastest of any pitcher in the modern era of MLB.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page
2020 N.L. Trevor Bauer, Cincinnati
27 of 30 1st-place votes
Led league in: WHIP (0.795), ERA (1.73), ERA+ (276), Shutouts (2), Complete Games (2)
Noteworthy: Bauer is surprisingly the first Cincinnati Reds pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. The Reds previously had five second-place finishers: Pete Shourek, Mario Soto, Danny Jackson, Tom Seaver, Johnny Cueto. Bauer previously placed 6th in voting in 2018. He allowed 1 earned run or less in eight of his 11 outings. His two complete game shutouts were both 7-inning games as part of double-headers. Yu Darvish of the Cubs earned the other three first-place votes and finished second for the second time in his career.
Background resources: Baseball-reference.com page