Phillies Cy Young Parade

Cy Young Awards to be announced tonight. Four different Phillies pitchers have won the Award. Three others finished second.

The Cy Young Award as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America was established in 1956. One pitcher in the majors received the honor. In 1965, awards were issued for each league.

Steve Carlton was the first to win four. He’s since been passed by Roger Clemens (7) and Randy Johnson (5) and joined by Greg Maddux (4).

Steve Carlton, 1972

Pitching for a last-place team, Lefty had one of the most dominating seasons of any pitcher. He led the league with 27 wins (10 losses), a 1.98 ERA, 41 games, 30 complete games, 346 innings, 257 hits. 310 strikeouts and 1,351 batters faced. His 8 shutouts were second. From May 3 through August 17, he won a club-record 15 consecutive games. He set an MLB record, percentage of team’s games won, 45.8 percent.

Lefty’s WAR, according to baseball-reference.com, was 12.1. Bob Gibson was second, 7.1.

BBWAA Voting: Unanimous with all 24 first place votes for 120 points; runner-up Steve Blass (Pirates) 35.

Steve Carlton, 1977

Lefty led the league with 23 wins (10 losses), fanning 198 in 283 innings while completing 17 of his 36 starts. He led the NL with 22 pickoffs and his 2.64 ERA ranked fourth in the league. Set a Veterans Stadium single-season record for wins, 17 (only 3 losses). WAR, 5.9.

BBWAA Voting: 17 first place votes for 104 points; Tommy John (Dodgers), 54.

Steve Carlton, 1980

In pitching the Phillies to their first World Series title, Lefty led the league in wins with 24 (9 losses), 304 innings, 286 strikeouts and 10.2 WAR. 10.2 was his WAR. He became baseball’s all-time strikeout leader for a left-hander on July 6.

BBWAA Voting: 23 of 24 first-place votes for 118 points; Jerry Reuss (Dodgers), 55.

Steve Carlton, 1982

He again dominated the league, leading in games won, 23 (11 losses), 19 complete games, 6 shutouts, 295.1 innings, 253 hits allowed and 286 strikeouts. WAR, 5.5. He was baseball’s lone 20-game winner and ended up with the most wins in NL history for his age (37). He also became only the second player to win a major award 10 years apart. Willie Mays was the NL MVP in 1954 and 1965.

BBWAA Voting: 20 first-place votes for 112 points; Steve Rogers (Expos), 29.

John Denny, 1983

He led the league with 19 wins (6 losses), a .760 percentage (new Phillies record), 7.4 WAR and home runs per 9 innings, .0334. His 2.37 ERA finished second. Won 13 of 14 decisions after the All-Star break, including seven in a row as Phillies won the NL pennant.

BBWAA Voting: 20 first-place votes, 103 points; Mario Soto (Reds), 61.

Steve Bedrosian, 1987

Became the first Phillies closer to win the award. 40 saves were tops in the majors, a first for a Phillies reliever. He set an MLB record with 13 consecutive saves, May 25-June 30, and he had a hand in 45 of the Phillies’ 80 wins. WAR, 2.3.

BBWAA Voting: 9 first-place votes, 57 points; Rick Sutcliffe (Cubs), 55.

Roy Halladay, 2010

“Doc” finished with a 21–10 record, 2.44 ERA. Led majors with 250.2 innings, 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, 8.5 WAR and 1.077 walks per 9 innings. His win total was the most for a Phillies pitcher since 1982 (Carlton, 23–11) and most for a Phillies right-handed pitcher since 1955 (Robin Roberts, 23–14). He tossed the second perfect game in Phillies history, May 29, at Miami.

BBWAA Voting: Unanimous with all 32 first-place votes, 224 votes; Adam Wainwright (Cardinals), 122.

Runners-up

2021 Zack Wheeler (Corbin Burns, 141–131 points)

2011 Roy Halladay (Clayton Kershaw, 207–133 points)

1967 Jim Bunning (Mike McCormick, 18–1)