Not to get ahead of Major League Baseball’s announcement, but history indicates that the Braves’ Chris Sale will win this year’s Cy Young Award. The Tigers’ Tarik Skubal will too.
No kidding, right?
Consider this: Every pitcher who has won the pitching Triple Crown (in their league or in all of MLB) has gone on to win the Cy Young Award that year. The pitching Triple Crown categories are wins, ERA and strikeouts.
This year’s award winners will be announced on Nov. 20.
The Cy Young Award was introduced in 1956 and was given to the best overall pitcher. In 1967, two awards were given to the best pitcher in the American and National League.
Sale and Skubal were both Triple Crown winners in their leagues this year. Sale led MLB is wins and ERA and was second in strikeouts (leading the NL). Skubal tied Sale for wins, led MLB in strikeouts and was second in ERA (leading the AL).
Sale and Skubal’s stat lines:
Sale: 18 wins, 2.38 ERA, 225 K’s.
Skubal: 18 wins, 2.39 ERA, 228 K’s.
Sale, an eight-time all-star including seven straight seasons, has never won a Cy Young Award.
Here’s a look at every Triple Crown winner in the Cy Young Award era. All won the award.
• Sandy Koufax, 1963 MLB, Dodgers (25 wins, 1.88 ERA, 306 K’s)*
• Sandy Koufax, 1965 MLB, Dodgers (26 wins, 2.04 ERA, 382 K’s)*
• Sandy Koufax, 1966 MLB, Dodgers (27 wins, 1.73 ERA, 317 K’s)*
• Steve Carlton, 1972 NL, Phillies (27 wins, 1.97 ERA, 310 K’s)
• Dwight Gooden, 1985 NL, Mets (24 wins, 1.53 ERA, 268 K’s)*
• Roger Clemens, 1997 AL, Blue Jays (21 wins, 2.05 ERA, 292 K’s)
• Roger Clemens, 1998 AL, Blue Jays (20 wins, 2.65 ERA, 271 K’s)
• Pedro Martinez, 1999 AL, Red Sox (23 wins, 2.07 ERA, 313 K’s)
• Randy Johnson, 2002 NL, D-backs (24 wins, 2.32 ERA, 334 K’s)
• Johan Santana, 2006 AL, Twins (19 wins, 2.77 ERA, 245 K’s)*
• Jake Peavy, 2007 NL, Padres (19 wins, 2.54 ERA, 240 K’s)
• Clayton Kershaw, 2011 NL, Dodgers (21 wins, 2.28 ERA, 248 K’s)
• Justin Verlander, 2011 AL, Tigers (24 wins, 2.40 ERA, 250 K’s)
• Shane Bieber, 2020 AL, Cleveland (8 wins, 1.63 ERA, 122 K’s)*
*-Led MLB in all three categories
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