NEW YORK — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was awarded his second AL Cy Young Award on Wednesday.
Verlander beat out teammate Gerrit Cole in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Verlander got 17 first-place votes compared to 13 for Cole, who became a free agent after the season.
The 36-year-old Verlander won his first Cy Young in 2011, when he also was named MVP, and since has been a three-time runner-up.
?️ Justin Verlander & Gerrit Cole are the only teammates to finish 1st and 2nd in the AL Cy Young Award voting! pic.twitter.com/bEv38U4BQ0
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 14, 2019
Verlander continued a marvelous second act to his career since a 2017 trade from Detroit to Houston. He led the majors with 21 victories and padded his Hall of Fame resume by getting his 3,000th strikeout in his final start of the regular season. He also reached 300 punchouts in a season for the first time.
Verlander no-hit Toronto on Sept. 1, becoming the sixth pitcher with three no-hitters in a career. He joined a group that includes Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Sandy Kofax, Bob Feller and Cy Young, along with 1880s pitcher Larry Corcoran.
Tampa Bay Rays righty Charlie Morton finished third a year after leaving Houston in free agency.
New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom won the NL Cy Young for the second straight year.
Simply deBest in deLeague. @JdeGrom19 is your NL Cy Young Award winner! pic.twitter.com/d4oQFjCvEd
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 13, 2019
Next up was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu and the Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer with 72 total votes. Ryu’s lone first-place vote, the only one that didn’t go to deGrom, secured him runner-up status.
The Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg got 69 votes.
Jacob deGrom has won his 2nd straight NL Cy Young Award.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 13, 2019
He's one of 6 players ever to post consecutive seasons with at least 250 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.50.
The other 5 pitchers are all in the Hall of Fame, and 4 of the 6 won consecutive Cy Youngs during their span. pic.twitter.com/qxa7x2vtVP
