The history of Major League Baseball (MLB) dates back to the founding of the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs in 1876. For nearly 150 years, the league has developed several individual and team awards to recognize outstanding achievements. The Cy Young Award, for example, is used to honor the league’s most accomplished pitchers every season.
The Cy Young Award is named after Cy Young, the greatest pitcher in MLB history. Young began his professional career in 1890 with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League. Between 1901 and 1908, he pitched in the American League, helping the Boston Red Sox win the 1903 World Series. During his first year in Boston, he led the league with 158 strikeouts, 33 wins, and an earned run average (ERA) of 1.62, a feat known as the pitching triple crown.
Young won two games during the 1903 World Series and recorded three no-hitters. His all-time league records range from most innings pitched, at 7,356, and most games started, at 815. He pitched nearly 80 shutouts during his career.
The Cy Young Award was established in 1956, and for over a decade, the honor was awarded to a single pitcher. Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers was MLB’s first Cy Young winner, going 27-7 during the 1956 season with an ERA of 3.06. In 1966, Sandy Koufax became the first pitcher to win more than one Cy Young Award and consecutive awards.
The following year the award expanded to include pitchers from both leagues. Bob Gibson won the National League Cy Young Award, while Denny McClain was named the American League Cy Young Award winner. Gibson’s 1.12 ERA remains the best mark since Mordecai Brown in 1906. Luis Tiant finished the same season with a 1.60 ERA for Cleveland, the best ERA for an American League pitcher since 1919, but could not compete with McClain’s 31 wins. It remains the last 30-win season in MLB history and the most wins for a Cy Young winner.
In 1969, McClain tied with Mike Cuellar as American League winners, resulting in the first and only season with three award winners. Roger Clemens has won seven awards, more than any other pitcher, with wins spanning from 1986 to 2004. Randy Johnson ranks second with five Cy Young Awards, including four straight wins from 1999 to 2002.
Fernando Valenzuela is the only player to win the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. He led professional baseball with eight shutouts in 1981. Gaylord Perry and Roger Clemens remain the only pitchers to win the Cy Young Award at age 40 or older.
Starting pitchers are typically the beneficiaries of Cy Young honors. The organizers consider their total wins and strikeouts to choose the recipient. That said, several relief pitchers have also won the award. Most recently, Eric Gagne was named the National League Cy Young Award winner in 2003, winning two games and recording 55 saves. Dennis Eckersley had 51 saves in 1992, and Mark Davis recorded 44 saves in 1989.
Following the conclusion of the 2022 MLB season, the recipients of the Cy Young Awards were Justin Verlander of the American League and Sandy Alcantara from the National League. 2022 marked Verlander’s second win in four seasons with the Houston Astros and Alcantara’s first. Verlander and Alcantara posted ERAs of 1.75 and 2.28, respectively, though Alcantara completed more than 53 innings.
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