Verlander is Unanimous for Cy Young, Beckett 9th

And the winner is……

Ok, so this year’s AL Cy Young Award didn’t have the drawn up hype that the Oscar’s typically have, but then again who really watches the Oscars?  Perhaps there will be more drama when the AL MVP is announced next week but for now we settle with the shocking revelation that Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers took home this year’s Cy Young in the AL.

In fact the race wasn’t even close as Verlander unanimously took home the award, sweeping every first place vote.  Again, this isn’t exactly “knock me over and call me stupid” type news, not when you consider Verlander’s numbers on the year.  The Tiger’s ace went 24-5, with an ERA of 2.40, and a WHIP of .092.  He threw over 250 innings and tossed 4 complete games including a no-hitter against Toronto back in May.  He truly was the best pitcher in all of baseball this year and this award may be the tip of the iceberg.

Verlander will have to wait until next Monday to see if he can become the first pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986 to win both the Cy Young and MVP in the same year.  For now, he’ll enjoy the crowning achievement of being the Cy Young winner.

There were other names on the award ballot believe it or not.  Jered Weaver of the Angels finished second in voting, grabbing 17 of the 28 second place votes, while James Shields of the Rays finished third.  CC Sabathia of the Yankees and Jose Valverde, the Tigers closer round out the top five.

Josh Beckett of the Red Sox did earn some recognition from the voters as he finished in ninth spot, garnering three, fifth place votes.  If it weren’t for Beckett’s lousy September and multiple no-decisions, he may have finished a little higher when the dust settled.  He still would’ve been looking up at Verlander, but perhaps a top five wouldn’t have been out of the question.  Ahhh speculation, it’s so useless.

For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed.