BEST Pitching Seasons To NOT Win a Cy Young

[@benkelly7499]

Felix was just an otherworldly pitcher. He’s one of the reasons I fell in love with baseball as a kid.

[@bleacherboysmedia]

Same here man I used to collect his baseball cards still have em to this day!

[@veritasinvicta8128]

Do you as an Ms fan consider Felix the best pitcher in their history? Or Randy?

[@YT_AKai_]

@@veritasinvicta8128 as an M’s fan I think randy was the most dominant pitcher of all time but Felix was better. A good example would be Shaq is the most dominant NBA player ever but not the BEST

[@benkelly7499]

@@veritasinvicta8128 For their overall career, definitely Randy. But I’d argue Felix was a better pitcher for the Mariners and a more important pitcher for the franchise, being the only bright spot on a team that was incredibly mediocre at best.

[@fortynights1513]

@@benkelly7499 From an M’s fan, that’s very accurate. Aside from 2014 and if you want to count it, 2016, the M’s didn’t have much of note in Felix’s prime other than King Felix himself. If he played on the teams of the late 90’s and early 2000’s who had much better lineups, he probably retires as a 200 game winner. He had 180 games of seven innings and two earned runs or less; that’s 11 more of those than his career win total. Johnson’s best individual seasons could be considered better, but Felix did more in a Mariners uniform.

[@Chris-xt8io]

Nola was a huge reason why the 2018 Phillies, who were full of bums and nobodies, almost made the playoffs

[@VictorRodriguez-qn1kz]

Was no one beating DeGrom that year

[@theb.a.r.strategy7254]

Towards the end of the season as they were collapsing, they literally couldn't win a game when Nola wasn't pitching. He was so good.

[@sleepy2603]

degroms 373 era+ idc he only threw 92 innings the fact he literally threw his career away for 92 innings of dominance truly shows his love for the sport 😅

[@Katsos44]

Great sound quality and very clear speaking, be proud of the quality!

[@NAT-turners-Revenge]

That kevin brown, pedro Martinez, and zach Greinke seasons were insane 🔥

[@danechatman6086]

1985 John Tudor 21-8 with a 1.93 ERA and 10 shutouts FIP of 2.71 WHIP .938 ERA+ 185 and only 49 BB in 275 innings

[@PHXNKVHXLIC]

Holy shit that’s crazy, what team? I’m assuming a crappy one at the time.

[@CoachTabe]

@@PHXNKVHXLIC St. Louis Cardinals. You'd be assuming wrong - they went to the World Series and lost in game 7 after getting hosed on a very poor call in the 9th inning of game 6.

[@PHXNKVHXLIC]

@@CoachTabe I figured it’d be a bottom of the league team to not get recognized. But that’s tough.

[@CoachTabe]

@@PHXNKVHXLIC Even crazier? He started the season 1-7 with a 3.74 ERA. Finished it on a 20-1 streak. And never had a chance at the Cy Young thanks to Doc Gooden pitching out of his mind that year.

[@craigwheeler4760]

1980-1983 Dave Steib was snubbed like 2 or 3 times. His WAR was leagues above the rest. He lost to a guy with 2.5 WAR when he had a season where his War was 7.8. Another year he lost to a guy who the league OPS'ed .780 against when the league average hitter was OPS'ing at 760. They actually were OPS'ing around 600 against Dave Steib that year. And he only lost out on the ERA title that year while leading his league in innings, by less than .1 or a run.

[@Surllio]

Ryan suffered from having outstanding seasons on terrible teams. He had at least 5 seasons where he was the best in the league but because his teams were awful, he got overlooked. Someone else has a video breaking down 4 of them.

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

Ryan in 1987 at age 40 Led the NL in ERA, SOs, ERA+, FIP, H/9, SO/9, SO/BB And finished *FIFTH* in 1987 NLCYA voting Why? Won lost record of 8-16 I know that writer/boneheads have evolved somewhat in their boneheadedness by overlooking W/L in awarding 2011 ALCYA to King Felix And 2018/2019 NLCYA to JdG But can you imagine any alternate universe where they'd be able to bypass an 8-16 record to award CYA to The Ryan Express?

[@ARod-br2ui]

@@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes I remember that season. Think that was the same year they awarded the Cy Young to Mark Davis from San Diego?

[@KidFresh71]

When talking about great pitchers over the past 50 years, everyone sleeps on Tim Lincecum. Didn't have a long career, but his peak was oh-so high. To me, these are the type of dudes who deserve to be in the baseball hall of fame: Lincecum. Dale Murphy. Peak performance for a few years (and you know, fame) is more important than having a 15 year career, making the all star team half the time, and sucking up to sportswriters.

[@veritasinvicta8128]

Don Mattingly fits your list.

[@Gemnist98]

The problem with Lincecum is that his downfall was EXTREME. After 2011 he never posted a single positive WAR season again, erasing all his efforts. And it’s a shame because during that peak he accomplished so much, being one of only three pitchers - along with Koufax and Verlander, both of whom will be in the Hall of Fame - to have multiple Cy Youngs, multiple World Series wins, multiple All-Star selections, and multiple no-hitters.

[@TheGeoScholar]

Randy Johnson pitched a perfect game in 2004, at age 40. To say he was snubbed is an understatement. His 16-14 record might have been blasé by his own standard. However, he had a 2.60 ERA and 290 strikeouts to go with it.. The Arizona Diamondbacks were the worst team in the majors that year (51-111). Johnson winning 31.2% of the Diamondbacks games in 2004 is the highest ratio for any pitcher in the 21st century, and the highest since Steve Carlton's 45.8% (Carlton won 27 out of Philiadelphia's 59 in 1972). Considering the train wreck of a Diamondbacks team Johnson was working with, he deserved that Cy Young award.

[@LoowheezeBreeze]

Johan Santana's 2005 season doesn't even get an honourable mention?!?! He lead the league in strikeouts, WHIP, ERA+, FIP, H/9, SO/9, and his 7.2 WAR was 1.5 higher than the next best pitcher... Shame on you!

[@thedemartiniteam6034]

What about Juan Marichal ! 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969! All these years he was bypassed for Cy Young Award. Doesn’t he at least get honorable mention? 18 to 30 complete games. ERA under 3.0. Close to 200 strikeouts if not over 200. 250- 326 innings pitched. Not to mention all the shutouts? Stack his stats to any of those pitchers and in any era he should have won a least one Cy Young. I think there was a lot of racism in those days. I honestly believe that’s why he never won the award. He was soft spoken and a true gentleman. I will always remember him with respect and admiration. His numbers speak for themselves.

[@LiamRFT]

2012 Justin Verlander. No doubt in my mind he deserved that Cy Young over David Price

[@ethanskywalker]

Aaron Nola is consistently one of the best yet most underrated pitchers in all of baseball, I need to see that man win a Cy Young before he retires.

[@harmonj3]

Hard to pick just one for Nolan Ryan, but I'd guess his '87 season. Led ERA, ERA+, FIP, SOs, SO/9, SO/BB, and H/9. And being later in his career he had a good WHIP at 1.14. The real problem was that his W-L record was like 8-16 and voters care about that too much. Hard not to like a few of his 70s seasons though where he led the league SO/9 and H/9 while also leading in batters faced...just too many walks in those days (pre Tom House).

[@snerdterguson]

Nolan Ryans 1987 win/loss record is the most perfect example of why winning percentage means next to nothing for pitchers. It is sad how long it took the voters to understand that.

[@jzk0517]

Great vid! Keep doing what y’all are doing.

[@jonnuanez7183]

Bob Welch's Cy Young is the Weezer of awards? 😂 Love it

[@internetexplorer9990]

The 1971 Cy Young winner was also the last switch hitter to win AL MVP.

[@scipio7]

Vida Blue. Also, if I recall, the last switch-hitter to win the AL MVP.

[@BeefPapa]

2015 they both deserved it. Should've shared the award. 2005 Johan Santana

[@craigwheeler4760]

Hell, in 2015 Max Scherzer had a legit argument himself. He led the league in strikeouts and posted 2 no hitters in that season

[@hector3310]

No Johan Santana 2005? Not even as a honorable mention? I feel disrespected

[@picklespandaohyeah]

This a great video brotha keep it up 🔥

[@jjerg]

You're my boy Blue! And the 1971 AL Cy young & MVP.

[@vivalavivarium]

after getting cut (unpopularly) in high school for throwing and batting weird I quit baseball and never watched it again. then 8 years later I watched the foolish baseball video on zack greinke and became obsessed again.

[@GaIeforce]

As a Marlins fan, I was fortunate enough to have the privilege to watch each and every one of Josh Johnson's 2010 starts. It hurt me to see he wasn't awarded the franchise's first Cy Young award, because all it took was a standout performance from Roy Halladay that year. It took all the way until 2022 for a Marlin to win a Cy Young award, and to think, before then, Josh Johnson, 2005 Dontrelle Willis, and 1996 Kevin Brown (I'm *_shocked_* you didn't mention 1996 Kevin Brown, honestly.) were the closest they got to having a Cy Young in their franchise.

[@dannywatkins1137]

1997 Greg Maddux: 19-4 2.20 ERA with just 20 Walks. He led the league in HR9, BB9, and SO/W. Pedro should have won the award, but this one of Maddux’s best seasons out of 1995.

[@PHXNKVHXLIC]

20 walks in a whole year is just hilarious tbh. Imagine if Aroldis Chapman has his control

[@onethreeify]

Thank you! Love from Sweden

[@acekelly2024]

Tack så mycket min kompis!

[@NA-jz2jo]

Great vid!

[@internetexplorer9990]

Wait how was 2019 Gerrit Cole not even an honorable mention?

[@ushib9368]

Great list and video. I think Kershaw’s 2015 deserved to be on the list or at least an honorable mention.

[@deathminder9206]

Not all of these examples are great because the person who did not win it lost to a comparable pitcher.

[@danechatman6086]

And the pitcher to supplant Wilbur Wood is Vida Blue

[@isaacspringer2451]

Great list

[@bleacherboysmedia]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment!!! We appreciate you being a fan of Bleacher Boys!

[@redeye5843]

gerrit cole 2019 should really be on here

[@jaimelannister1797]

Nola had a 5.5 fWAR in 2018. He doesn't belong on this list, that 9.7 bWAR is just a BWAR anomaly that the rest of his stats don't support

[@macdisciple]

1971 Tom Seaver. I’m still angry.

[@brandan7095]

R.I.P Doc he was amazing man. I wish he would of just gotten help whoever that asshole was who snuck a camera into rehab should of gotten his ass kicked. Forcing him to leave early because he was ashamed of it getting out he was in rehab.

[@southwest7977]

Probably not list worthy but Elroy Face going 18-1 in 1959 before the age of “advanced stats” should’ve been eye popping. But as a reliever 🤷‍♂️.

[@nunestunes]

Vida Blue was nasty in 71

[@kevinmadden1645]

Not to win; to not win is grammatically incorrect. Never split an infinitive!

[@bleacherboysmedia]

Thanks!

[@Whiffski]

02:10 Established Sex Wizard? Did I hear that right? lol.

[@samuelhodak8731]

Watching arrieta in 2015 was masterful as well can’t even be mad

[@markhutchins905]

Nolan Ryan 73 season should’ve been 1

[@phathead41]

So Nola's 2018 season is on the list but not Scherzer's? You calling the BBWAA blind to stats is the pot calling the kettle black.

[@thescottishlion]

Just throw out the WAR statistic since there is no mathematical equation to value it. At least you can equate FIP and ERA+.

[@mtverv]

Kevin Appier’s loss in 1993 to Jack McDowell is damn near a crime lol. But the bigger crime is it’s no where on this list not even in the honorable mentions…

[@acekelly2024]

Yeah we did whiff on that one...

[@justingaming146]

I Will say I do agree with the list you did forget about Kevin Millwood's 1999 season

[@drewwhiskey840]

Damn if Randy won that Cy Young in 2004 he could be in the Hall Of Fame

[@TheFreelanceTeacher]

Ron Guidry got robbed in 1985.

[@jamie49868]

It's really hard to judge when you don't include and compare these seasons to who actually won the Cy.

[@hyperking8445]

🔥🔥🔥

[@hsproyaya]

2018 AL could have a snub

[@thene1ghborskid339]

Degrom deserved 2018 but scherzer along with Nola had a great season

[@Alexskateboards10]

Great video, and I agree with almost every selection. But I gotta say, Jake Arrieta really deserved that award in 2015. He pitched one of the greatest seasons of all time, with a no-hitter to top it off at the end. He had struggled deeply with the Orioles in the beginning of his career, but showed lots of potential. He began picking up so much steam heading into 2015, beginning to unlock that potential with Cy Young-caliber pitching after being traded to Chicago mid 2014. Now I love Zack Greinke, and he has been one of my favorite players since he was on the Royals, but the only thing he had over Arrieta in 2015 was .1 ERA and about .02 WHIP if I remember right. Greinke posted historic Era and whip numbers, but Arrieta was right there with him, all while averaging a higher strikeout rate and lower hits/9. The 22-6 1.76 stat line is comparable to Carlton’s ‘72 performance and it was magic to watch. Incredible seasons by both, but I feel it rightfully went to Arrieta

[@stevengarrison1019]

2012 Jered Weaver

[@alexsweet8585]

John Tudor, 1985.

[@markeastridge9649]

CY3 Orel’s 85 season was pretty equal to Tutor. 239 ip vs 275 the gap in voting? CY5 Fernando had a season pretty equal to Saberhagen in the American League. I was a rabid 13 year old Midwest at the time. Still when I learned how to find games on far away am radio and navigate tv listings for baseball shows and broadcasts. Every box score read every day in the newspaper.

[@alexsweet8585]

@@markeastridge9649 a 20-1 stretch run and 10 complete game shutouts ain't nothing to sneeze at.

[@sunsunavery4237]

did steve carlton beat wood?

[@TheGeoScholar]

Not in 1971. Vida Blue beat him in 1971. Wilbur Wood came in 2nd, again in 1972, to Gaylord Perry.

[@VictorRodriguez-qn1kz]

2015 Zack grienke should have won still think it to THIS DAY

[@oddballskull1941]

Dave stieb is the list.

[@josephvanhorn5347]

Hell no.

[@oddballskull1941]

@josephvanhorn5347 Secret base, story of Dave stieb. Refresh your memory

[@weav0303]

Justin Verlander in 2016 definitely deserved the award.

[@Il_Exile_lI]

I will never understand why people act like that award so bad. Verlander and Porcello were super close across the board. They had basically the same ERA+ (Porcella 142, Verlander 140), same WHIP (Porcello 1.009, Verlander 1.001), same IP (Porcello 223, Verlander 227) same FIP (Porcello 3.40, Verlander 3.48). Verlander had more strikeouts (254 vs 1889), but Porcello had nearly half as many walks (57 vs 32). bWAR had Verlander well ahead at 7.4 vs. 4.7, but fWAR was a lot closer at Verlander 5.4 vs. Porcello 5.1. Like sure, maybe Verlander was slightly more deserving, but it was really close and could have rightfully gone to either of them. The fact people act like this was the biggest Cy Young snub of all time is baffling to me. There are at least a dozen seasons with CY results that are way worse than this. And really, it was overall a weak year for AL Cy Young to begin with. In most other seasons, neither of them would even be in the race because usually at least or two players have much better seasons. The previous year the race was between two guys with ERA+ numbers above 157, while in the next season the winner was over 200 with 2 other guys over 150. The fact people get so bent out of shape over a Cy Young where both major contenders had an ERA+ around 140 is pretty silly. Neither had an incredible season by normal Cy Young standards.

[@weav0303]

@@Il_Exile_lI hey, 100% understand what you're saying. I am a Red Sox fan. But I feel that JV having 6 more 1st place votes. Also Verlander had 65 more strikeouts than Porcello. But I can understand why Porcello won the award. I wasn't saying he wasn't deserving, just in my opinion I think he was the better pitcher that season. A lot or very similar stats. Buy I don't disagree with your reasoning at all. Porcello was dominant in 2016.

[@Il_Exile_lI]

@@weav0303 I'm not saying Porcello should have won, like I said Verlander was marginally better and probably should have won. My issue is that a lot of people act like this is the worst Cy Young vote of all time. I guess it's a result of Cy Young voting being a lot better in the last decade than it was for most of MLB history that a mildly contentious result seems worse than it really is. But, for most of MLB history Cy Young voting was routinely atrocious. There are countless examples of completely nonsensical CY results that are in a league of their own compared to the 2016 results. Like, compared to Dennis Eckersley winning 1992 as a closer with 80 IP over Clemens and Mussina who were both excellent in over 240 innings with ERAs around 2.50 and over 8 WAR each, the 2016 vote seems pretty uncontroversial. And there are plenty of similar or worse examples at that 1992 result.

[@weav0303]

@@Il_Exile_lI I agree 100%. There are much worse instances of "snubbing". The examples you give I agree with. I also think the 2016 Cy Young is over analyzed. Just was surprised that it wasn't mentioned based on how so many baseball fans feel about it. I think he covered most of the real snub cases. 2016 was just a lot closer than the others mentioned. Either one of them could have got it and I would think people would be content. I think the 2016 case relies more on Verlander's longevity and greatness, and doesn't consider Porcello as how he was, because he was at best very good for other seasons of his career. I think people look back and see the name Verlander and automatically think he should have won over a pitcher who had a huge peak that was brief. And again made the comment just based on the "popular opinion" about the 2016 cy young race.

[@RyanDaRizzle]

@@Il_Exile_lI Verlander bested Porcello in EVERY stat except walks and wins. Might not have "dusted" Porcello in all those stats but was still better. Wins shouldn't even be considered when deciding the Cy Young.

[@MiguelitoRomero.3105_OFICIAL]

What about 2005 Cy Young 3rd place Johan Santana, beating Bartolo Colon in every metric possible except for wins. He would have (hypothetically) won 3 straight Cy Young Awards, something only 2 pitchers achieved in MLB history.

[@jtthomas7349]

Felix Hernández should've had 3 Cy Youngs minimum. Should have won over Greinke in 2009 and was absolutely ROBBED in 2014 when they gave it to Corey freakin Kluber despite Felix being better in every conceivable way. The award has lost a lot of credibility in the last decade or so, Imo.

[@ryanmccleaf8430]

Vida

[@barbaryn7899]

Okay you at least have Kevin Brown as an honorable mention... But no Johan Santana??

[@josephvanhorn5347]

At least Santana won two of them. Kevin Brown probably should've won in 1996 and DEFINITELY should've won in 1998.

[@nabateisles7550]

VIDA BLUE 1971 CY YOUNG...THE LAST SWITCH HITTER TO WIN THE MVP (IN THE SAME YEAR)!

[@Nickat-fk8ud]

2005 Johan Santana should have won the award over Bartolo Colon

[@jermdogg1185]

if Felix' pitched in new York, he would have 4 cy youngs....

[@willcarlson1120]

Don’t even get me started on seattle athletes getting overlooked lol

[@RealJeffTidwell]

Pedro Martinez 2002

[@SuperAmazinglover]

When it comes to the elite pitchers win loss record should be completely ignored. Yet sadly it carrys weight for some. It should probably be ignored completely for all pitchers as it's a team stat thats more a reflection of how good or bad their teams offense was.

[@Rsm1219]

I think gerrit Cole on the astros desvered the cy young over verlander

[@giodmgz]

2021 Julio Urías robbed 2022 Julio Urías robbed

[@isaacspringer2451]

I bet u get a lot of bumble matches

[@tythegolfer6279]

Nolan Ryan will always be #1 He lost to a RP that is mediocre at best!

[@garettbond6182]

I think the year Felix lost it to Dallas Keuchel was a mess of a decision. Felix had better numbers if I remember right but the Astros were popular

[@veritasinvicta8128]

Yep, Keachel was only dominant for a couple of seasons. Last season he was literally the worst starter in MLB.

[@kevingartland723]

Felix should have won in 2014!!!

[@ryan51castillo]

Clayton kershaw 2012 lost to RA Dickey

[@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes]

An argument can be made to award Kershaw in 2012 But Dickey did not come close to being gifted by the writers

[@VictorRodriguez-qn1kz]

The dodgers really threw prime Kershaw and Grienke Twice at the Mets in the 2015 Nlds and STILL lost lmao

[@veritasinvicta8128]

Gerrit Cole in 2019.

[@walterbison]

@5:18 Ryan is so overrated. Yeah he struck out 383 but he ALSO WALKED 162! Don't give me "that's just par for the course". It's not par for a Cy Young winner and neither is a 1.227 WHIP.

[@supermegavideos156]

Dave Stieb?

[@marzix427]

Seem salty about the fact Arrieta beat Greinke. If Greinke had won, Arrieta would have been #1 on this list. He was every bit as dominant as Greinke was that year and had the lowest 2nd half ERA since the mound was lowered (if I remember correctly.)

[@sunsunavery4237]

also first 2 weezer albums much different than the rest you should know this

[@DropYourFear]

Zach Britton 2016 67 ip 4 er .54 era 803 era+ 4.1 war 0.836 whip

[@jacobantony9033]

If Greinke got it in 2015, then Arrieta would have been on this list.

[@natemiller6802]

Where is Cliff Lee on this list

[@darkstar9751]

Zack Greinke wasnt better than Kershaw in 2015. Its really not even that close tbh

[@danielwells1357]

The fact that Yu Darvish lost to Trevor Bauer in 2020 because of the popular vote pisses me off and now everyone knows that Trevor Bauer was cheating the whole time when Yu Darvish should have gotten the reward.

[@brandenp1187]

Wheeler was robbed in 21 in my opinion

[@PRIM3TACTiCZ1]

In my honest opinion Jake over zack in 2015. 🤌 But both were elite that year and it was such a great year to watch them both pitch

[@jamie49868]

It is really hard to judge when you don't include and compare these seasons to who actually won the Cy.