Best Cy Young Year Ever?

On Thursday, November 17th, 2011, Clayton Kershaw was officially named the 2011 NL Cy Young Award winner.  This was not much of a surprise to most MLB fans.  Kershaw was incredible this year from the very first start to the very end.  Most had him pegged for the award, with either Halladay or Lee as second and third.

Most people know that he was good, but do most people know how good he was?  Here are the statistics Clayton lead the NL in this season: 21 wins, 2.28 ERA, 248 K, 0.977 WHIP and 6.7 H/9.  If you're a stathead like me, you quickly realize this means that Clayton won the NL Pitching Triple Crown, which is comprised of Wins, ERA and Ks.  Throw in WHIP and the H/9 and you have one great season.

We shouldn't forget about Justin Verlander either.  He also won the AL Pitching Triple Crown.  He lead the league at W(24), ERA(2.40), K(250), WHIP(0.920) and H/9(6.2).  So we can see that his statistics were even slightly better than Kershaw's.  Once I realized that both pitchers had won their respective Triple Crowns, it really got me wonder when was the last time this occurred?

After going over the list of Triple Crown winners, I emerged with the result that this has not occurred by a pitcher in both leagues in the same season since 1924(Dazzy Vance in the NL, Walter Johnson in the AL).  It has only been achieved previously three times(1924, 1918, 1905).  This is a very rare occurrence.  The Cy Young Award was first given out in 1956, and did not change to a one-in-each-league award until 1967.  This means that this has never been achieved in the Cy Young Award era.

That fact leads to the question which must be asked: Was this the best year ever for Cy Youngs?  It has to be taken as a serious question.  I believe the answer is, Yes.  There have been better seasons by individual pitchers in baseball history.  Of course those years Pedro had, Maddux in the mid-90s, Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson; those were all some of the best pitching statistics ever posted in a single year.  But as a total of both leagues top pitchers' combined work, this was the best complete year.

Only three pitchers have won their league Triple Crown since 2000: Jake Peavy(2007), Johan Santana(2006), and Randy Johnson(2002).  No American League pitcher won the Triple Crown between 1945 to 1997.  This is not something that happens a lot.

I like to look at other statistics that fall outside the Triple Crown as well, such as WHIP and H/9.  It is always amazing when a starting pitcher pitches a complete season and posts a WHIP under 1.00.  Over 33-35 starts, that is such an amazing testament to their ability to limit base runners to a microscopic level.  I also like H/9 as a telling stat.  I have poured over thousands of stat sheets in my life, and come to the conclusion that if you can post a H/9 around 7.0, you are great.  So to post a H/9 of sub-7.0, you were truly unhittable.  Verlander was literally unhittable on May 7th against Toronto.

Were these the best pitching stats I have ever seen in a single season?  No; but it was the best combined Cy Young numbers I have ever seen.  That should really get more of a shout out in the media.  I mean if someone ever won the batting Triple Crown, it would be front page sports news and dominate sports shows.  Pitchers deserve a little more respect.

A Link To Triple Crown Winners List:  http://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/pitrip.shtml 

Praying For Wilson Ramos' Safe Return

Story #1 right now in MLB should be Wilson Ramos' kidnapping.  It should be, but it's not being treated as such.  MLB.com only gave it third story down on the sidebar on it's page yesterday.  It was only given a passing mention on ESPN.  To me, this is the most important story because a man's life is worth a hell of a lot more than some stupid trade rumors.

The focus this offseason has rightfully until now, been on the big name free agents and possible trade candidates such as Pujols, Fielder, Buehrle and Reyes.  The biggest trade this offseason for me however will be when Ramos is safely traded back to his family for money or whatever they demand.  I'm praying for his safety right now.  The only information we have is that people broke into his house while he was there with his family in Venezuela.  They took him out and put him into a vehicle and drove off.  No one has heard from the kidnappers since the incident.  

It's the sad story that has become all too common for sports athletes who have family living in South American countries.  Yorvit Torrealba's son was kidnapped walking to school in Venezuela a few years ago, and Victor Zambrano's mother was kidnapped for ransom also.  I have not yet read a story of the actual player being kidnapped however.  Hopefully they will return him safe and unharmed.  We really don't know who did this or what their demands will be.  They could demand a lot of money since they have the actual player and not just a family member.

Ramos made $415,000 last year according to Baseball-Reference.com.  Almost certainly, a ransom would have to be paid by a third party, either the Nationals or MLB or anyone that wants to help.  Wilson is coming off a solid season with the Nats this year, hitting .267/15/52.  Ramos was in Venezuela to play in the league down there during the offseason.  The Venezuelan League was thinking about cancelling games while this situation was going on but decided not to.  They did hold a minute of silence for Ramos at all games Thursday.

I'm disappointed that the media is not more concerned with this story, but I am sure the story will be picked up by all major outlets when more news comes out about it.  Right now we're just waiting and hoping for good news.  I could really care less about trade rumors or who met with who right now.  I don't care if the Marlins sign Pujols and Fielder tonight.  The biggest news will be the safe return of Ramos.