The pitcher as an MVP storyline rears its ugly head rarely in Major League Baseball. They have their own Cy Young Award, after all, and even the best starting pitchers in the sport will participate in anywhere from 200 to 250 of his team’s 1,500 innings in a given season. That’s not a whole lot of time to make an impact compared to a player who hits and fields virtually every day. On Monday, Detroit’s Justin Verlander became the first starting pitcher to win both the American League Cy Young and the MVP in 25 years with 13 of 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Roger Clemens was the last starter to do so in 1986. Dennis Eckersley did it as a closer in 1992 — though that’s almost unfathomable in this day and age given a reliever might only pitch 80 innings. Not even Mariano Rivera dreams of winning an MVP.
Verlander was actually left off one ballot because the writer — Jim Ingraham of The Herald-News in Ohio — decided pitchers should not receive consideration given how few games and innings they actually participate in. It’s an age-old argument, but one that we rarely have to deal with because it’s not often a pitcher is so dominant that he forces himself into that conversation.
Recommended Stories
Only 10 pitchers in history have pulled off the double. If Pedro Martinez couldn’t win in either 1999 and 2000 with ERAs of 2.07 and 1.94 — and 284 and 313 strikeouts — then does anyone really deserve it? Verlander wasn’t quite at that Martinez level this season (24-5, 2.40 ERA, 250 strikeouts) — though he helped carry the Tigers to the AL Central title and a postseason berth.
Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury received four first-place votes. He carried his team down the stretch but couldn’t prevent an epic collapse that cost the Red Sox a postseason bid. Toronto slugger Jose Bautista had another powerful year and Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees placed fourth after hitting 41 home runs this season and helped his team to an AL East title. But Verlander was helped because there wasn’t a runaway pick among those position players. He did just enough to make some history.
– Brian McNally
