Some decisions in sport aren’t easy to understand. The fact that Rick Porcello won the AL Cy Young is certainly one of them.
The Boston Red Sox right-hander led the American League in wins (22-4) and was a dominant pitcher all season long. But it’s hard to justify his victory over Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber in this race. Especially since Verlander had more first-place votes in the ballot. Is it fair to say Verlander deserved better luck? Or did Porcello deserve the Award?
First of all, let’s take a look at the numbers to see which pitcher had a better season in terms of stats:
Porcello finished the season with a 22-4 mark, a 3.15 ERA, 189 strikeouts and 223 innings pitched across 33 starts. But he wasn’t even close to match up Verlander’s production, especially in the second half.
The numbers tell the whole story. The Detroit Tigers’ ace finished the year with a 16-9 mark, a 3.04 ERA, 254 K and 227 IP, but that’s not all. Verlander was even more dominant in the second half, posting a 1.96 ERA and limiting the opposition’s batting average to .180 after the All-Star Break. And if that wasn’t enough, the 33-year-old also led the AL in WHIP (1.00) and WAR (6.6).
The advanced stats give Verlander a clear edge over Porcello. There’s also the health, as Porcello missed some time due to injury in August. One has to wonder why Verlander, who didn’t miss time at all this season, didn’t receive more votes.
But there’s one aspect we are not considering. Most of the voters are old-school baseball writers, so for them stats such as wins and ERA still have a big impact. And if we consider that Porcello led all of baseball in wins, then it’s easy to understand why he won.
Kate Upton can criticize baseball writers all she wants, but that’s not going to change anything. The reality is that Porcello won the Award, even if Verlander deserved better luck.