Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Cy Youngs: The Statistical Insurrection


2010 Jordan would be SO PISSED at these two for getting Cy Young this year.

Blake Snell was a surprise pick for the Cy, solely because he was barely expected to be a part of the starting picture in April, and...he was the only constant starter in Tampa this year. And man, if this guy isn't a strikeout artist. If the Rays end up getting back into the playoff race, Snell will be one hell of an ace. I do worry that giving it to Snell rather than an established star like Verlander or Sale will doom Snell to be a one-off fluke, but...hopefully he'll keep things together.

Meanwhile, Jacob deGrom...falls into the 2010 Felix Hernandez category of 'does he really deserve it?' Unlike King Felix, the closest rival to deGrom already has 3 Cy Youngs, and the other closest rival is a guy who, while great this year, still has a few more prime seasons left for another shot at Cy (and hopefully, Aaron, you'll get there). So if anyone's gonna get it, it should be deGrom.

But...deGrom played on a team that stuck him with a crap W/L record, and squandered the game even when deGrom was throwing fire, which was every game. If he hadn't played for the Mets this year, I'd be a lot more firm in saying deGrom deserved this award. But the quality of his material despite the Mets' bullpen is the real take here- insanely low ERA, a ton of strikeouts, and some dominance that is the pinnacle of Jacob deGrom's tenure in Flushing. It's a win that may be contested in the future, but I'm perfectly fine with it, and I think it's about time deGrom won one.

Tomorrow, we get our MVPs. Like the Cy Youngs, these two races look predictable, but you never know who'll slide in a last minute Baez vote.

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