With his American League-best 2.16 ERA, Royals right-hander Zack Greinke became the first starter to win the AL Cy Young Award with fewer than 18 wins.In results announced Tuesday, Greinke received 25 of 28 first-place votes. Mariners ace Felix Hernandez got two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting, and Detroit's Justin Verlander received one first-place vote and finished third, one point ahead of Yankees lefty CC Sabathia.
Greinke was 16-8, and his relatively low win total was due to a poor Kansas City offense. The Royals averaged 3.8 runs scored in his starts, tied for the worst run support in the AL. Greinke had six starts in which he allowed fewer than two runs but did not get a win.
But his ERA was best for an AL qualifier since Pedro Martinez in 2000, and Greinke led the league in opponents' on-base percentage (.276), baserunners allowed per nine innings (9.81) and fewest home runs per nine innings (0.43). He was second in complete games (six), shutouts (four), strikeouts (242), opponents' average (.230) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.75).
| How They Voted |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voting for 2009 AL Cy Young Award (5 points for a first-place vote, 3 for second, 1 for third): | ||||
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pts |
| Greinke, Royals |
25 |
3 |
|
134 |
| F.Hernandez, M's |
2 |
23 |
1 |
80 |
| Verlander, Tigers |
1 |
|
9 |
14 |
| Sabathia, Yankees |
|
2 |
7 |
13 |
| Halladay, Blue Jays |
|
|
11 |
11 |
So the hardest part of his season might have been the media attention.
"It's not so much it takes away so much time that you can't [keep to a routine]," Greinke said in July. "My mind, I can't get back to the right mindset after I leave the right mindset. It takes a while to get back to it sometimes."
He began this season with a 0.00 ERA in his first four starts and became the third big-leaguer to have an ERA better than 1.00 over his first 10 starts. Greinke also finished strong, setting a team record with 15 strikeouts on Aug. 25 against Cleveland, following that up with a one-hitter against Seattle and going 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his final eight starts.
Greinke, who turned 26 on Oct. 21, is the third Royals pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, after Bret Saberhagen (1985 and 1989) and David Cone (1994).
Hernandez (19-5 with a 2.49 ERA) tied for the league lead in wins and was second in ERA. Verlander was 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and led the AL with 269 strikeouts. Sabathia was 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA.
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Who the hell votes on the Cy Young awords, oh yea I forgot, its the sports writers with tunnel vision and there heads in the sand. How many times did Cy Young pitch for a last place team, never, what the heck is happening to our american pass time, theres not a damn one of those voters that could justify that pick.
Dewey, you are a moron. If you had a clue about basebal stats, you would understand why Greinke deserved this award.
Dewey - You're just upset your boy CC didn't get a single first place vote. Thank God the writers didn't go with their usual "Oh just give it to the Yankee" mindset.
Whose head is in the sand? It's an individual award and doesn't matter that his team finished in last place. He had the lowest ERA in the league and he didn't get to pitch AGAINST the Royals.
If I had a vote it would have went to Felix. King Felix 19-5, 217k, 2.49 era vs. Greinke 16-8, 242k, 2.16 - that's a difference of .33 in the ERA - and Felix has a 3 win difference. I realize he doesn't pitch for the Royals - but if it's all about ERA then just call it the best ERA award. I think Felix makes a strong case.
Bottom line is a 2.16 era which was far superior than anyone else. Wins is a ridiculous category to go by..a pitcher can go 2 months and give up one or two runs a game and not get many wins..another guy can give up 3 or 4 runs and get 6 or 7 wins in the same time frame..if a team doesnt score much or has a shaky bullpen wins dont come...
you know hes gonna want to get the hell out of kc as soon as he can!!!!!!!
The sad thing is that the Royals will probably have to trade him because they can no longer afford him. He was the one bright spot in the season. He will probably go to the Yankees, who can afford the best. We need revenue sharing (or salary caps).
There is revenue sharing in baseball. The Yankees also pay a "luxury" tax on their bloated payroll. Jeter's one of baseball's highest paid players but the Yanks didn't buy him. Rivera is baseball's most consistent reliever and came up thru their farm system. The Yankees pay a lot to keep their productive players in NY. I remember the days when penny pinching CBS owned the Yanks. That saw the only Yankee team to finish last since the start of the Ruth era. CBS ran the Yanks the way the Pirates have been run for two decades.
What a joke!!!! What IDIOTS do the voting for this stuff???
Unfortunately, How long will it be until he is a Yankee!
Hey give this kid his due, He was the only bright side on a bad team. I take it none of you ever played ball.This kid has excellect stuff and 1 day will be a super star so long as he doesn't get hurt.... he's on the right trac for a big payday to bad KC isn't the team to give it to him.
Anyone too young to remember the last Cy Young award winner from a last place team? Steve Carlton, 1972 Phillies, 27-10, ERA 1.72, for a team that won only 55 total games! A great pitcher desrves recognition, no matter for whom he plays; Zach Greinke's season was such.
felix hernandez got ROBBED ..!!!!...MORE STARTS MORE WINS .....SPORTSWRITERS ARE IDIOTS...!!!!.....just look at the college football rankings at the beginning of the season ...these idiots get swayed by hype...rather than doing their OWN analysis.....disgusted ...yet again ..!!!....j.t.
yeah ....HOW MANY strikeouts did greinke have ..???...25.THATS IT ..!!!...the difference in the era...OUT OF 24 STARTS OF HERNANDEZ'S ....HOW MANY WERE THE MARINERS LEADING IN WHEN FELIX WAS RETIRED ...???...HOW MANY BLOWN SAVES THEN ..???.THEN THE GAME SCHEDULES .....YEAH THEN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE ...FELIX WAS ROBBED ....j.t..
SHOULD SAY MORE STRIKEOUTS..THAN FELIX..
Think about this, Grienke didn't get an opportunity to pitch against the Royals.
LOL!!! Great point!!
HE WILL BE A YANK WITHIN 2 WEEKS. GO YANKS
Wow Bret, stupid name and stupid comment