2023 MLB Cy Young award: Yankees ace Gerrit Cole finally wins first, Blake Snell scores second with Padres win

Major League Baseball handed out more hardware on Wednesday night with the announcement of the 2023 Cy Young Award winners. New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole claimed the American League honors unanimously, while Blake Snell (formerly of the San Diego Padres) was deemed the National League’s top pitcher. For those unfamiliar with the process, these awards are voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Their ballots are cast after the regular season and before the start of the playoffs. Already this week, MLB and the BBWAA have handed out the Rookie and Manager of the Year Awards. Here is the remaining schedule:

• Monday, Nov. 13: Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll named Rookies of the Year
• Tuesday, Nov. 14: Skip Schumaker and Brandon Hyde named Managers of the Year
• Weds., Nov. 15: Cole and Snell named Cy Youngs
• Thurs., Nov. 15: Most Valuable Players

Now, here are some things to know about both Cy Young Award winners.

Snell

Free agent left-hander Blake Snell, most recently a member of the San Diego Padres, was named the National League Cy Young Award by MLB and the BBWAA on Wednesday night. Snell beat out fellow finalists Zac Gallen (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants).

Snell is now a two-time Cy Young Award winner, having won the American League version back in 2018. As such, he joins an elite group of pitchers who have won the award in both leagues, including Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, and Max Scherzer.

Snell went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA (182 ERA+) on the season. He also recorded a 2.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio and an estimated 6.0 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations. Snell is the fifth Padres pitcher to ever win the Cy Young Award, joining Jake Peavy (2007), Mark Davis (1989), Gaylord Perry (1978), and Randy Jones (1976).

Gallen went 17-9 with a 3.47 ERA (125 ERA+) and a 4.68 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This represents the third time he’s finished top-10 in Cy Young Award voting.

Webb went 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA (130 ERA+) and a 6.26 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also received Cy Young Award consideration last winter, albeit not nearly as strong since he finished 11th in balloting.

While Snell was not the unanimous choice, he did take 28 of 30 first-place votes. Here are the ballot totals: 

Cole

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was unanimously named the American League Cy Young Award by MLB and the BBWAA on Wednesday night. Cole edged out fellow finalists Kevin Gausman (Toronto Blue Jays) and Sonny Gray (free agent, but most recently of the Minnesota Twins). 

Cole, one of the majors’ most accomplished pitchers to have never won a Cy Young Award, can now scratch that feat off his to-do-list. He went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA (165 ERA+) and a 4.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His contributions were worth an estimated 7.4 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations.

Cole is the sixth Yankees pitcher to ever win the Cy Young Award. He joins Roger Clemens (2001), Ron Guidry (1978), Sparky Lyle (1977), Whitey Ford (1961), and Bob Turley (1958).

Gausman went 12-9 with a 3.16 ERA (134 ERA+) and a 4.31 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This is the third consecutive winter he’s received Cy Young Award consideration, having previously finished sixth and ninth.

Gray went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA (154 ERA+) and a 3.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Gray had previously received Cy Young Award votes in 2015 (third) and 2019 (seventh). 

As you’re about to see within the vote totals below, Cole becomes the 11th AL Cy Young winner to sweep all first-place votes: