For the third night in a row the Baseball Writers Association of America announced another set of MLB accolades for the 2015 season. This time it was Chicago Cubs' Jake Arrieta and Houston Astros' Dallas Keuchel who took home the league's Cy Young awards.
It was a close race in both the National and American leagues, as a number of pitchers were worthy of taking home this year's honors, but Arrieta and Keuchel stood out with their tremendous 2015 campaigns.
.@JArrieta34 rocked in 2015, and he now has a Cy Young Award to show for it. Congratulations! https://t.co/LcgCeposmi
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 18, 2015
Arrieta edged Dodgers starter Zack Greinke in the voting for the NL. The right-hander constructed the best second half stretch of any pitcher in MLB history and went 12-1 with a 0.75 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 113 strikeouts in 15 starts (107 1/3 innings).
Arrieta received 17 first-place votes to Greinke's 10. Clayton Kershaw, who won the last two NL Cy Young awards, finished in third with three first-place votes. Check out the BBWAA voting breakdown here.
Overall, Arrieta, 29, went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 236 strikeouts in 33 starts (229 innings) and threw a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also went 13-1 with a 1.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 129 strikeouts in 18 road starts (124 innings).
The right-hander led the MLB in wins, opponents' batting average (.185), complete games (4), shutouts (3) and hits per nine innings (5.9). He propelled the Cubs to their first postseason appearance since 2008 and advanced them to the NLDS with a complete game shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game.
Congrats #Astros ace @kidkeuchy, 2015 @officialBBWAA AL #CyYoung Award winner! #GoBeardOrGoHome pic.twitter.com/O4aiU1TVlf
— Houston Astros (@astros) November 18, 2015
Keuchel, 27, took home the AL Cy Young and absolutely dominated the voting. He earned 22 first-place voted compared to David Price's eight. Oakland Athletics starter Sonny Gray finished in third place, but didn't receive a first-place vote.
Check out the BBWAA voting breakdown here.
The left-hander finished 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 33 starts (232 innings), not including his 2-0 record with a 2.57 ERA in three postseason games. He led the AL in wins, shutouts (2), innings pitched, WHIP and also captured his second consecutive Gold Glove and earned his first All-Star honors.
Keuchel is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility. He just finished his fourth MLB season and came onto the scene in 2014 when he finished 12-9 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 146 strikeouts in 29 starts (200 innings).
Congrats to these two well-deserved winners. The final MLB awards will be announced on Thursday night when the MVPs are revealed for both leagues.
