| The few years where relief pitchers were given this award are shameful. The writers responsible should have their votes taken away. Relief pitchers should never even be eligible for the Cy Young - they pitch a fourth of the innings of a top starter, and all those innings are with the lead. So to say a reliever is not only better than all the starting pitchers, but better than the guys who play 9 innings, 4 at-bats a night, every night, is insane. Relief pitchers, even in this age of specialization, are still pretty much what they always have been- pitchers who aren't good enough to start. If a pitcher is one of the top 5 on the team, and isn't limited by a fragile arm (the Kerry Wood problem- he could only have continued pitching in relief), there's no way a competent franchise is going to limit him to a fourth of the possible innings he could pitch. |
MLB Rookies of the Year (AL)
MLB World Series MVPs
MLB NL MVPs
