NEW YORK — Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did – a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award.
Corey Kluber edging out Felix Hernandez for the AL pitching prize, that was no sure thing.
Additional Images
Now the big question: Is Kershaw the Most Valuable Player, too?
“I can’t even really fathom it happening,” Kershaw said Wednesday, shortly after winning his third Cy Young in four seasons.
Kershaw led the majors in victories and ERA, and threw a no-hitter, going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA for the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kershaw, a 26-year-old left-hander with a wicked curveball, will find out Thursday if he’s the first NL pitcher to sweep the MVP and Cy Young honors since Bob Gibson in 1968.
“I think a lot of things probably have to go right,” Kershaw said, adding, “there are so many people out there who don’t think a pitcher should win.”
Pittsburgh center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who won the NL MVP last year, and Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton are competing against Kershaw for the honor.
“Everybody’s going to have an opinion” on the position player-vs.-pitcher debate, Kershaw said.
His thought? “I don’t really have an opinion either way,” he said, diplomatically.
“I think most valuable is such a tough thing to assess,” he said.
Kershaw won the Cy Young for the second straight year, getting all 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Johnny Cueto of Cincinnati was second with 112 points, followed by Adam Wainwright of St. Louis (97) and the World Series MVP, Madison Bumgarner of San Francisco (28).
Voting was completed before the postseason began. Kershaw went 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA in a division series loss to St. Louis, leaving him at 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA in his playoff career.
“For me, personally, the season didn’t end the way I wanted it to,” Kershaw said.
Kluber’s dominant second half helped him draw 17 of 30 first-place votes and 169 points, while Seattle ace King Felix got 13 firsts and 159 points. Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox was third with 78 points.
“I think I’m definitely surprised,” said Kluber, who “just assumed” Hernandez would win.
Nicknamed “Klubot” for his stoic demeanor, his plans after the announcement were far from flashy.
“Probably go home and give my daughters a bath,” he said.
A 28-year-old right-hander, Kluber went 18-9 to tie for the AL lead in wins. He had a 2.44 ERA in his first full major league season and 269 strikeouts, two behind the league leader, David Price.
Kluber had consecutive 14-strikeout games in September, not done since Randy Johnson of Arizona in 2004. He became Cleveland’s fourth Cy Young winner, joining Gaylord Perry (1972), CC Sabathia (2007) and Cliff Lee (2008).
“To have your name mentioned along with theirs in certain categories is humbling,” Kluber said.
Hernandez, who won the AL award in 2010, went 15-6 with a league-leading 2.14 ERA. He struck out 248 in 236 innings.
“I don’t know what to say. That was tough,” Hernandez said. “A little disappointed.”
Kershaw won the major league season opener in Australia on March 22, then a strained upper back put him on the disabled list for the first time in his seven-year career.
Once he returned, he kept looking more and more like his friend, Dodgers Hall of Fame left-hander Sandy Koufax.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.