Gerrit Cole, the ace pitcher for the New York Yankees, has been named the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner.
With 30 first-place votes, Cole was unanimously voted as the best pitcher in the AL for the past season. This marks the first time a Yankee has won the Cy Young since Roger Clemens in 2001, and Cole is now the sixth pitcher in team history to receive this prestigious honor.
All aboard. This is a Cy Young bound express Cole Train. pic.twitter.com/ywdwuEEzfr
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) November 15, 2023
Throughout his MLB career, Cole has proven to be deserving of this accolade. Despite the struggles of the 2023 Yankees, Cole stood out as one of the few bright spots.
He led the league in several statistical categories including ERA, ERA+, WHIP, innings pitched, and shutouts. He posted an impressive 2.63 ERA and allowed more than three earned runs in a game only five times out of 33 starts.
Gerrit Cole’s impressive 2023 campaign lands him his first ever Cy Young Award. pic.twitter.com/IzXssfGgpS
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 15, 2023
Additionally, he contributed a 3.16 FIP, 7.4 Baseball Reference WAR, and 5.2 FanGraphs WAR.
Both Jon Gray and Kevin Gausman had solid seasons and helped their teams clinch playoff berths, but they were unable to match up to Cole’s outstanding performance.
Cole not only outperformed them in various statistical categories but also had the advantage of being considered one of the best and most well-known active pitchers who had yet to win a Cy Young.
This was Cole’s seventh time finishing in the top 10 in voting, previously coming in second place in both 2019 and 2021.
In terms of the voting breakdown, as mentioned earlier, Cole received all 30 first-place votes. Gray came in second place, receiving 20 of the 30 second-place votes, while Gausman secured third place.
No other Yankees players were considered in the top five rankings of any of the 30 voters.
In the National League, Blake Snell emerged as the winner, earning 28 out of 30 first-place votes and securing his second career Cy Young Award.
