Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Robbie Ray was the runaway winner of the American League (AL) Cy Young Award and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes won a tight battle to claim the National League (NL) Cy Young Award, it was announced on Wednesday on the Major League Baseball (MLB) Network.
It is the first Cy Young Award for both hurlers.
Ray, 30, received 29 first-place votes and 207 points in balloting by 30 Baseball Writers Association of America voters.
Right-hander Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees received the other first-place vote and was a distant second with 123 points. Chicago White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn (48 points) was third.
In the NL, Burnes and second place Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies each received 12 first-place votes. But Burnes (151 points) earned 14 second-place votes to nine for the right-hander Wheeler (141).
Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Max Scherzer (113 points) received six first-place votes while placing third. Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler (70) was fourth.
The 30-year-old Ray led the majors with 248 strikeouts. He also led the AL with a 2.48 ERA and went 13-7 in 32 starts.
“This is a huge honor and I’m very thankful,” Ray said in a live televised interview on the MLB Network following the announcement.
Ray is the first Toronto pitcher to win the award since the late Roy Halladay in 2003.
“I felt like everything was coming together at the perfect time,” Ray said of his big season.
Cole, 31, compiled a 16-8 record and 3.23 ERA with 243 strikeouts in 30 starts. His 16 wins were most in the AL.
The 34-year-old Lynn went 11-6 with a 2.84 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 28 starts. He only pitched 157 innings so he didn’t qualify to win the ERA title. — Reuters