Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski and Yankees’ Cam Schlittler unanimous Cy Young winners

The Story

Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and the New York Yankees’ Cam Schlittler were unanimous Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday after dominant performances in their first full major league seasons.

Misiorowski won the NL Cy Young Award, helping the Brewers win their first World Series title while setting a new standard for velocity by a starting pitcher. Schlittler won the AL Cy Young Award, becoming the second Yankees pitcher in four years to receive the honour.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America, which votes on the awards, said this was the third time the Cy Young winners in both leagues were unanimous. The other years were 2022, when Houston’s Justin Verlander and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara won, and 1968, when Detroit’s Denny McLain and St. Louis’ Bob Gibson won.

Misiorowski became the fourth Brewer to win a Cy Young Award, joining Rollie Fingers (1981), Pete Vuckovich (1982) and Corbin Burnes (2021).

The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 1.80 ERA, struck out 252 batters and limited hitters to a .157 batting average to lead the majors in all three categories. The .157 mark was the lowest since 1900 for any AL or NL pitcher with 100 or more innings, and he had an 0.80 WHIP, the lowest in a full regular season for pitchers with at least 150 innings since Pedro Martinez had a 0.73 for Boston in 2000.

During the regular season, Misiorowski went 16-5 and threw 1,115 pitches of 100 mph or more, the highest total since tracking began in 2008, surpassing the prior mark of 673 by Jordan Hicks in 2018.

He then went 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA during Milwaukee’s 4-1 World Series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, including 5 2/3 shutout innings in Game 5, which clinched the Brewers’ first franchise title.

Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez finished second and Atlanta’s Chris Sale was third in the NL Cy Young voting. Sánchez posted an 18-7 record with a 2.91 ERA and 231 strikeouts in 207 innings, while Sale went 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 162 2/3 innings.

Schlittler won the AL Cy Young Award three years after Gerrit Cole received it for the Yankees, and Cole was the first Yankees winner since Roger Clemens in 2001. Schlittler, 25, went 14-6 with an AL-leading 1.95 ERA that ranked third in Yankees’ history, behind Spud Chandler (1.64 in 1943) and Ron Guidry (1.74 in 1978).

Schlittler’s 239 strikeouts tied for second in the AL with Toronto’s Dylan Cease, behind the 248 by Cleveland’s Gavin Williams. Cease finished second in the AL voting with an 11-6 record and a 2.40 ERA, while Parker Messick of Cleveland was third after going 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA and 193 strikeouts in 186 1/3 innings.

The awards also included the reliever of the year honours. Toronto’s Louis Varland won the AL reliever of the year award after going 5-6 with a 1.27 ERA, 35 saves and 97 strikeouts in 78 innings, with Cleveland’s Cade Smith second and Tampa Bay’s Bryan Baker third.

In the NL, San Diego’s Mason Miller was a unanimous selection for reliever of the year after going 5-2 with a 1.67 ERA, 38 saves and 129 strikeouts in 70 innings, with Philadelphia’s Jhoan Duran second and Milwaukee’s Trevor Megill third.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in a statement, “Cam had as dominant a season as a starting pitcher can have from start to finish,” adding, “He’s shown an astonishing amount of growth since we drafted him, and his success is no accident.”