The BBWAA is an organization with a lot of great writers that cover baseball, and within that group, a lot of different opinions are formed about certain things. The vote for the 2021 Cy Young is a perfect example, the NL was the closest vote that there ever has been. Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers and Zack Wheeler from the Phillies ended up tied for first place votes with 12 each. Just one more 1st place vote and Wheeler would have won, but why didn’t he get it?
Embed from Getty ImagesLets first take a look at some season totals from the top 3 vote-getters out of 5 contestants for the award:
First we’ll look at the winner this year for the NL, Corbin Burnes:
Year | Age | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 26 | 11 | 5 | .688 | 2.43 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 167.0 | 123 | 47 | 45 | 7 | 34 | 234 |
4 Yr | 4 Yr | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3.39 | 102 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 313.2 | 257 | 125 | 118 | 30 | 89 | 427 |
162 | 162 | 11 | 5 | .676 | 3.39 | 49 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 122 | 59 | 56 | 14 | 42 | 203 |
Next it’s The Phillies pitcher, Zack Wheeler, the 2nd place finisher in the 2021 Cy Young Vote:
Year | Age | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 31 | 14 | 10 | .583 | 2.78 | 32 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 213.1 | 169 | 72 | 66 | 16 | 46 | 247 |
7 Yr | 7 Yr | 62 | 50 | .554 | 3.51 | 169 | 169 | 4 | 3 | 1033.2 | 936 | 439 | 403 | 94 | 332 | 1026 |
162 | 162 | 12 | 10 | .554 | 3.51 | 34 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 208 | 188 | 88 | 81 | 19 | 67 | 206 |
And last, let’s look at the third place finisher this year, Max Scherzer, who won the award 3 other times and turned 37 years old in 2021:
Year | Age | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 36 | 15 | 4 | .789 | 2.46 | 30 | 30 | 1 | 179.1 | 119 | 53 | 49 | 23 | 36 | 236 |
2021 | 36 | 8 | 4 | .667 | 2.76 | 19 | 19 | 1 | 111.0 | 71 | 36 | 34 | 18 | 28 | 147 |
2021 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.98 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 68.1 | 48 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 89 |
14 Y | 14 Y | 190 | 97 | .662 | 3.16 | 407 | 398 | 12 | 2536.2 | 2072 | 959 | 890 | 287 | 677 | 3020 |
162 | 162 | 16 | 8 | .662 | 3.16 | 34 | 34 | 1 | 214 | 175 | 81 | 75 | 24 | 57 | 255 |
Ok, so with these stats on the pitchers, we can make some conclusions about how some of the writers voted the way they did. First, Burnes had a decent ERA at 2.43 but that was in 28 GS, if we look at Wheeler with that stat, he was 2.78 which is a bit higher over 32 GS. Wheeler had more wins than Burnes at 14-10 on the season, compared with Burnes record of 11-5 on the year. Let’s bring in Max Scherzer, the 3rd place vote-getter, he had a combined overall ERA with both teams he pitched for of 2.46 with a 15-4 record overall. Scherzer started 30 games this past season.
You can make the case for the Cy Young Award with any one of these top 3 finishers in 2021. In the end, it was the 2nd place votes for Burnes that put him over the top between Wheeler and himself. Scherzer had an amazing season too, he could have easily been the winner as well this year. Wheeler’s ERA could have been a bit lower and he may have won this year, but it wasn’t that ‘Cy Youngish’ in the end. Still an awesome season, and a pitcher who may even have a better year for The Phillies in 2022.
Robbie Ray of the Toronto Blue Jays won the Cy Young Award in the AL finishing with 29 overall first place votes.