(New York) New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole unanimously won his first Cy Young in the American League on Wednesday.
Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres earned the National League honor, becoming the seventh to receive the trophy in both leagues.
After often coming close, Cole finally finished at the top of the voting after an exceptional season with the Bronx Bombers.
The right-hander received 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
He was ahead of Minnesota Twins right-hander Sonny Gray and Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman in the order.
Cole had a 15-4 record and 2.63 ERA with 222 strikeouts in 209 innings – a high for innings in the American League.
He became the sixth Yankees pitcher so honored at the end of the season, the first since Roger Clemens in 2001.
“It makes me extremely proud to feel like I can hold my own alongside these great players,” said Cole, who signed a $324 million contract with the Yankees in December 2019.
Cole had finished second in the voting on two occasions (and three other times in the top 5).
Snell led the major leagues with a 2.25 ERA.
Now a free agent, the left-hander received 28 of 30 first-place votes.
San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb was second and Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks was third.
Snell, a 2018 American Cy Young winner with the Tampa Bay Rays, joined Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer among those who earned the honor in both leagues.
PHOTO GREGORY BULL, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Blake Snell
” It’s incredible. I’m not good at accepting awards, Snell said. I’m trying to enjoy this one more than the first. It’s really special.
“In 2018, I was (only 25 years old). I thought I was going to win 40. I thought I was invincible. I thought winning the Cy Young was what I was going to do every year. »
Despite a poor start to the season, Snell went 14-9, with 234 strikeouts.
He worked 180 innings over 32 games for the Padres. The latter had a performance of 82-80, despite the third largest payroll in the circuit.
His record was 1-6 and his ERA was 5.40 on May 19, after a loss to the Boston Red Sox.
He then recovered brilliantly despite 99 walks, a record in the major leagues.
Snell became a free agent after turning down a one-season, $20.325 million qualifying offer from the Padres.
The other four Padres pitchers to win the Cy Young are Randy Jones (1976), Perry (1978), Mark Davis (1989) and Jake Peavy (2007).