2009 in baseball was definitely the year of the pitcher. While it looks like Zack Greinke should definitely win the Cy Young award in the American League, things are much closer in the National League, leaving many to speculate about a very interesting race.
While some great pitching was pretty commonplace throughout the entire National League, the race really boils down to two pitchers. Guys like Matt Cain, Adam Wainwright, Jair Jurrjens, Johan Santana, Wandy Rodriguez, and others were absolutely great this season, with many of them having career years.
Between the St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter and the San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum, the two pitchers pieced together two of the best pitching seasons in baseball that I've witnessed over the last few years. A quick look at their numbers would lead you to agree.
Looking at the stats doesn't tell the whole story with either of these pitchers. That's perhaps what makes this race even more difficult to call, as if it wasn't already hard enough. It's almost painful to deny either of these incredible pitchers of an award they deserve. Maybe they'll somehow tie for the award.
As for Tim Lincecum, the Giants are once again a winning baseball team, thanks largely in part to his reliable presence as the team's ace. He struck out more batters than anyone in the National League, had a handful of complete games, and the second best ERA in the National League.
Chris Carpenter, on the other hand, is more likely to see a movie made out of his story. After missing two consecutive seasons with an injury that threatened his career, he somehow managed to pull it together with the best season of his career. No one in baseball expected anything this drastic out of Carpenter, who led the NL in earned run average.
As for who will win this race, all bets are off. Voters will probably be required to vote based on the surrounding details rather than the stats themselves. After all, the stats themselves would lead someone to mull this over all day. - 31492
While some great pitching was pretty commonplace throughout the entire National League, the race really boils down to two pitchers. Guys like Matt Cain, Adam Wainwright, Jair Jurrjens, Johan Santana, Wandy Rodriguez, and others were absolutely great this season, with many of them having career years.
Between the St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter and the San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum, the two pitchers pieced together two of the best pitching seasons in baseball that I've witnessed over the last few years. A quick look at their numbers would lead you to agree.
Looking at the stats doesn't tell the whole story with either of these pitchers. That's perhaps what makes this race even more difficult to call, as if it wasn't already hard enough. It's almost painful to deny either of these incredible pitchers of an award they deserve. Maybe they'll somehow tie for the award.
As for Tim Lincecum, the Giants are once again a winning baseball team, thanks largely in part to his reliable presence as the team's ace. He struck out more batters than anyone in the National League, had a handful of complete games, and the second best ERA in the National League.
Chris Carpenter, on the other hand, is more likely to see a movie made out of his story. After missing two consecutive seasons with an injury that threatened his career, he somehow managed to pull it together with the best season of his career. No one in baseball expected anything this drastic out of Carpenter, who led the NL in earned run average.
As for who will win this race, all bets are off. Voters will probably be required to vote based on the surrounding details rather than the stats themselves. After all, the stats themselves would lead someone to mull this over all day. - 31492
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