Gerrit Cole (33-New York Yankees), the highest-paid pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, has won his first career Cy Young Award. It is the 11th unanimous award in American League (AL) history and the first for a Yankee in 22 years since Roger Clemens.
Cole was named the winner of the award after receiving 30 first-place votes in the Baseball Writers Association of America’s AL Cy Young Award voting, which was announced on Friday.굿모닝토토 도메인
Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011, Cole established himself as the team’s ace after making his big league debut in 2013. After two dominant years in Houston, where he was acquired in a trade, Cole landed with the Yankees in a nine-year, $324 million deal ahead of the 2020 season.
This season, he went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA. He was third in wins and strikeouts, and first in ERA and innings pitched. He also had two complete games. All of this while the team was just shy of a .500 winning percentage and ranked fourth in the district.
Cole’s strengths are durability and consistency, but he hasn’t had any awards. Even in 2019, when he had a monster season with 20 wins, a 2.50 ERA, and 326 strikeouts, he finished second in the Cy Young voting behind teammate Verlander. He has finished in the top five five times since his big league debut, including that year, but has failed to win the award each time.
Cole was overjoyed when the award was finalized, MLB.com reported. “It’s a recognition of all the hard work I’ve put in over the years and the support I’ve had from my family and everyone around me throughout my life,” he said, adding, “I’m very proud.”
The award, created in 1956 after the death of legendary pitcher Cy Young, the major league’s all-time wins and losses leader, recognizes the top pitchers in both leagues in a given year. Only six of the previous AL winners have received unanimous honors like Cole. The latest was Justin Verlander (Houston Astros), who won the second unanimous award of his career last year.
In the National League, San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell won his second career Cy Young Award. Snell, who won the AL Cy Young Award with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018, became the seventh pitcher in history to win the award in both leagues.