When Gerrit Cole signed a nine-year, $ 324 million contract – the most lucrative ever by a pitcher – with the Yankees in December, he left New York as the city that is home to the two best starters in the game right now, already that Cole joined Mets ace and two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom in the Big Apple.
Although both will be pitching with rival teams in the same city, the two aces will try to make history together in 2020.
Two players have won the MVP trophy multiple times in the same season while representing the same city, including in 2019 with Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger. But that has never happened with the Cy Young Award.
Cole and deGrom will attempt to become the first streamer duo to accomplish the feat in 2020, a year after deGrom won his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award and Cole finished second behind his former teammate on the Astros. Justin Verlander, in the American League.
It was a narrow loss for Cole, who received 13 first-place votes and amassed 159 points to 171 for Verlander. Cole had a solid argument, as he outscored Verlander in two of the Triple Crown’s three pitching categories (ERA, strikeouts) and posted an FIP (Independent Fielding Pitching) that was 0.63 better than Verlander’s while he pitched. 10.2 fewer tickets.
Here’s a look at the last three times a pitcher won his league’s Cy Young Award in the same year a pitcher from the same city finished in the top three in the voting at the other circuit.
2011: Los Angeles
Following his rise to stardom in 2010, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw took his game to an even higher level the following season, when he won his first Cy Young Award. While teammates on the Phillies, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, both finished with more Over-Replacement Wins, according to Baseball-Reference, Kershaw was an easy pick for voters as he won his first and only pitching Triple Crown with the best ERA in the National League (2.28), the most victories in the Old Circuit (21) and 248 strikeouts.
In the American League, Angels right-hander Jered Weaver had what ultimately was the best season of his career, setting career-highs in earned run average (2.41), WHIP (1.01), innings pitched (235.2) and WAR. (6.9), while racking up the second-most strikeouts (198) in his career as a major league.
However, he fell short in the Cy Young Award race, as Verlander was named MVP and Cy Young winner that same year after posting a 24-5 record, a 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 250 strikeouts throughout. of 251.0 entries by the Tigers. Weaver finished second, preventing the city of Los Angeles from taking the Cy Young Award in both leagues.
1992: Chicago
While Greg Maddux showed flashes of greatness in his first six seasons, 1992 was the year he finally established himself as a front-line ace. In the final season of his first stint with the Cubs, the “Maestro” was 20-11 with a 2.18 ERA and 199 strikeouts in 268 innings. His 9.4 WAR total was the highest in the majors.
Maddux edged out Braves left-hander Tom Glavine for his first Cy Young Award. He then joined Glavine in Atlanta as a free agent and won three more Cy Youngs from 1993 to 1995. Athletics rider Dennis Eckersley, who also won the American League MVP trophy. Maddux and McDowell were the Cy Young Award winners the following season, but Maddux was no longer in Chicago.
1985: New York
New York City had a golden opportunity to win both Cy Young Awards in 1985, when Mets right-hander Dwight Gooden had one of the best performances by a pitcher in MLB history at just 20 years of experience. age. Gooden led the Big Top in wins (24), ERA (1.53), strikeouts (268) and WAR (13.3), and the National League in innings pitched (276.2) and complete games (16), winning the Cy Young unanimously. .
Yankees left-hander Ron Guidry, who won the American League Cy Young Award in 1978, didn’t look as dominant as Gooden in 1985, but voters were impressed with his 22-6 record. Guidry also posted a 3.27 ERA over 259 innings and finished second in the Cy Young race behind Royals right-hander Bret Saberhagen. (GG) (Tomado del MLB en Español)