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Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell win 2023 Cy Young Award

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) bestowed the 2023 Cy Young Award to Gerrit Cole for the American League and Blake Snell for the National League.

Cole won his first Cy Young after becoming a runner-up twice. The New York Yankees pitcher won unanimously after finishing with an AL-leading 2.63 earned run average (ERA). He led the majors in innings pitched (209) and the fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.8).

He finished with a 15-4 record and an MLB-leading 0.981 WHIP. Cole became the second top overall pick to win the Cy Young after David Price. He also became the sixth Yankee to win the highest individual award for pitchers after Roger Clemens (2001), Ron Guidry (1978), Whitey Ford (1961), Sparky Lyle (1977), and Bob Turley (1958).

The Minnesota Twins’ Sonny Gray finished second with 104 points on 29 votes, while the Toronto Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman came in third with 82 points on 27 votes. Kyle Brandish, Luis Castillo, Zach Eflin, Pablo Lopez, George Kirby, Framber Valdez, Chris Bassitt, Felix Bautista, and Chris Martin received votes.

Meanwhile, Blake Snell became the seventh MLB pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues, joining Clemens, Max Scherzer, Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez, Gaylord Perry, and Randy Johnson. He first won the award in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Snell finished the 2023 season with a 14-9 record for the San Diego Padres. He also had the best ERA at 2.25 and was the best pitcher in opponent slugging percentage (.286) and strikeout percentage (31.5). Snell also gave up 5.8 hits per nine innings.

He is the fifth Padres pitcher to win the Cy Young after Jake Peavy (2007), Mark Davis (1989), Perry (1978), and Randy Jones (1976). Snell received 28 of the 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA. The San Francisco Giants’ Logan Webb and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen each got one first-place vote.

Webb finished second with 86 points on 25 votes, while Gallen came in third with 68 points on 26 votes. Spencer Strider, Justin Steele, Zack Wheeler, Kodai Senga, and Corbin Burnes also received votes. Meanwhile, Snell is now a free agent after turning down a $20.3 million qualifying offer from the Padres.

-Lance Fernandez

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