The 2009 American League Cy Young ballot

October 28, 11:16 AMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

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Greinke had a breakout 2009 season for the Royals AP/Ed Zurga

The race for the American League Cy Young Award started out as a one-horse race as Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals stormed out of the box with a red-hot April. As the season progressed, though, Greinke slowly returned to a level slightly closer to reality. This allowed other contenders for the award to emerge such as Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays, Justin Verlander of the Tigers, CC Sabathia of the Yankees, and Felix Hernandez of the Mariners. Were any of them able to catch Greinke and wrestle the award from him?

The answer is no. Halladay looked like he might overtake Greinke at one point in the season. Halladay was 13-5 with a 2.65 ERA entering play on August 19; a loss that night to the Red Sox triggered a month-long slump in which he went 2-5 with a 4.31 ERA over seven starts. That slump killed Halladay’s chances for the award, and even his back-to-back complete game shutouts to end the season could not bring them back to life.

King Felix led the surprising M's AP/John Froschauer

Justin Verlander can make a great case for himself. He led the league in innings pitched and strikeouts while tying for the lead with 19 wins. While the rest of the Tigers were busy choking away the American League Central to the Minnesota Twins, Verlander won his last three starts to at least get the Tigers into that epic one-game playoff. He was consistently dominant all season, but he will have a tough time winning the award with a 3.45 ERA – over a full run higher than Greinke’s league-leading 2.16.

CC Sabathia closed out the season masterfully for the Yankees. He did exactly what the Yankees paid him for. Throwing out his last start of the season – a meaningless loss to the Rays – Sabathia went 9-0 with a 2.04 ERA in 11 starts in August and September. CC’s dominance allowed the Yankees to run away from the Red Sox in the American League East and put the division on ice very early. Still, the Cy Young is an award for year-long excellence and while CC’s 19-8 record and 3.37 ERA were very impressive, he still falls a little bit short in the end.

Verlander is a strikeout machine AP/Duane Burleson

The Rays know very well how dominant Felix Hernandez can be. King Felix has held them to a .207 BAA over 188 at bats in his career. Hernandez flew a little but under the radar in Seattle, but he had an unbelievable season. Are you ready for this? Felix Hernandez finished the season with quality starts in 24 of his last 25 outings! How’s that for consistency? Hernandez posted a 19-5 record on the worst offensive team in the American League. Almost any other year, Hernandez takes home the award.

This, however, was the Year of Greinke. Zack Greinke led the league in ERA and WHIP, finished second in complete games, shutouts, and strikeouts, and just thoroughly dominated his competition all season long. Greinke allowed a league-low .435 HR/9 IP. He started and finished the season strong – combine his first 8 starts and last 8 starts and you get these numbers: 12-1, 0.93 ERA, 125 K, 76 H, 23 BB, and 116 IP. The Royals were a last-place team even with Greinke’s heroics, but this award goes to the best pitcher in the league, not necessarily the most valuable. This year the best pitcher in the American League was Zack Greinke.

Here is my final ballot:

• 1. Zack Greinke, Kansas City – 16-8, 2.16 ERA, 242 K
• 2. Felix Hernandez, Seattle – 19-5, 2.49 ERA, 217 K
• 3. Justin Verlander, Detroit – 19-9, 3.45 ERA, 269 K

How does your ballot look? Let me know in a comment.

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