Roy Halladay put up a compelling argument for earning a second NL Cy Young Award in a row. Clayton Kershaw was just a bit better in every respect.
The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tied for the NL lead in wins (21) and was first in ERA (2.28) and strikeouts (248).
CAPTION
The Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander won his final eight decisions to claim pitching's Triple Crown, and on Thursday he was voted the league's Cy Young winner. At 23, Kershaw is the youngest to claim the award since the New York Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1985.
AL CY YOUNG: Verlander unanimous
Kershaw got 27 of 32 first-place votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America, compiling 207 points to outpoll the Philadelphia Phillies' Halladay (133) and Cliff Lee (90).
"I never thought that in a million years I'd get a chance to be even in the conversation for (the award),'' Kershaw said. "I'm surprised I even got it.''
Kershaw's 21-5 record tied him for the NL lead in wins, and he ranked first in ERA at 2.28 and strikeouts with 248.
He's the 13th pitcher to lead his league in those three categories since the Cy Young Award was instituted in 1956, and all 13 have been granted pitching's biggest prize, including the Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander on Tuesday.
"I always dreamed about playing in the big leagues. I never dreamed about doing anything special in the big leagues,'' Kershaw said. "It's something that may never fully sink in.''
Halladay, who was vying for his third Cy Young, went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA and 220 strikeouts, ranking second and third in the latter two categories. He threw an NL-high eight complete games, finished with the second-most innings (233 2/3) and was fourth in WHIP – walks plus hits per nine innings – with a 1.04 mark. Kershaw led the league in that department at 0.98.
The strength of the vaunted Phillies' rotation was reflected in Cole Hamels, Lee and Halladay ranking 2-3-4 in the league in WHIP. All three finished in the top five in the Cy Young voting.
Lee's six shutouts were the most in baseball – nobody else had more than four – and his 17-8 record, 2.40 ERA and 238 strikeouts usually would put him atop any Cy Young discussion.
But Kershaw's finishing rush left his competition for the award behind. In the final two months of the season, he went 9-1 with a 1.44 ERA to surge to the top of the debate.
"The last two months we played awesome,'' he said. "I felt like every time I went to pitch, we had a one- or two-run lead going into the first inning. It didn't really matter who we faced. We just had a lot of confidence.''
Kershaw was particularly impressive when matched up against San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winner. They went up against each other four times and Kershaw won every single one – by scores of 2-1, 1-0, 2-1 and 2-1 – part of his 5-0 mark with a 1.07 ERA against the defending World Series champs.
Kershaw's ability to overwhelm hitters was hardly a mystery despite his youth. In the last three seasons, he has ranked first, fifth and second in the majors in opponents' batting average with marks of .200 in 2009, .214 in 2010 and .207 last season.
This year he continued that mastery while dramatically decreasing his walks – from 3.6 per nine innings to 2.1 – and pitching a career-high 233 1/3 innings.
Kershaw said the consistency he gained from experience encouraged him to go after hitters more:
"The other part of that is I was throwing off-speed pitches for strikes,'' he said. "I started throwing the slider a lot more and it was just a lot easier to throw for a strike when I was behind in the count or if I needed to get back in the count.''
The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw tied for the NL lead in wins (21) and was first in ERA (2.28) and strikeouts (248).CAPTION
By Eric Risberg, AP
The Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander won his final eight decisions to claim pitching's Triple Crown, and on Thursday he was voted the league's Cy Young winner. At 23, Kershaw is the youngest to claim the award since the New York Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1985.
AL CY YOUNG: Verlander unanimous
Kershaw got 27 of 32 first-place votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America, compiling 207 points to outpoll the Philadelphia Phillies' Halladay (133) and Cliff Lee (90).
"I never thought that in a million years I'd get a chance to be even in the conversation for (the award),'' Kershaw said. "I'm surprised I even got it.''
Kershaw's 21-5 record tied him for the NL lead in wins, and he ranked first in ERA at 2.28 and strikeouts with 248.
He's the 13th pitcher to lead his league in those three categories since the Cy Young Award was instituted in 1956, and all 13 have been granted pitching's biggest prize, including the Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander on Tuesday.
"I always dreamed about playing in the big leagues. I never dreamed about doing anything special in the big leagues,'' Kershaw said. "It's something that may never fully sink in.''
Halladay, who was vying for his third Cy Young, went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA and 220 strikeouts, ranking second and third in the latter two categories. He threw an NL-high eight complete games, finished with the second-most innings (233 2/3) and was fourth in WHIP – walks plus hits per nine innings – with a 1.04 mark. Kershaw led the league in that department at 0.98.
The strength of the vaunted Phillies' rotation was reflected in Cole Hamels, Lee and Halladay ranking 2-3-4 in the league in WHIP. All three finished in the top five in the Cy Young voting.
Lee's six shutouts were the most in baseball – nobody else had more than four – and his 17-8 record, 2.40 ERA and 238 strikeouts usually would put him atop any Cy Young discussion.
But Kershaw's finishing rush left his competition for the award behind. In the final two months of the season, he went 9-1 with a 1.44 ERA to surge to the top of the debate.
"The last two months we played awesome,'' he said. "I felt like every time I went to pitch, we had a one- or two-run lead going into the first inning. It didn't really matter who we faced. We just had a lot of confidence.''
Kershaw was particularly impressive when matched up against San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young winner. They went up against each other four times and Kershaw won every single one – by scores of 2-1, 1-0, 2-1 and 2-1 – part of his 5-0 mark with a 1.07 ERA against the defending World Series champs.
Kershaw's ability to overwhelm hitters was hardly a mystery despite his youth. In the last three seasons, he has ranked first, fifth and second in the majors in opponents' batting average with marks of .200 in 2009, .214 in 2010 and .207 last season.
This year he continued that mastery while dramatically decreasing his walks – from 3.6 per nine innings to 2.1 – and pitching a career-high 233 1/3 innings.
Kershaw said the consistency he gained from experience encouraged him to go after hitters more:
"The other part of that is I was throwing off-speed pitches for strikes,'' he said. "I started throwing the slider a lot more and it was just a lot easier to throw for a strike when I was behind in the count or if I needed to get back in the count.''
