Felix Hernandez had the lowest run support of any pitcher in the major leagues this season. He found much more support Thursday from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Hernandez, the Seattle Mariners’ right-hander who earned only 13 victories last season, won the American League Cy Young Award in a landslide. He took 21 of 28 first-place votes, beating Tampa Bay’s David Price, who had four first-place votes, and the Yankees’ C. C. Sabathia, who had three.
Hernandez, who was 13-12, had the fewest victories ever by a starter who won the award in a nonstrike season. Price was 19-6 and Sabathia was 21-7. In past years, one or the other might have won easily. But most voters no longer emphasize a pitcher’s record, and Hernandez’s other numbers were overwhelming.
“I didn’t have the wins, but you look over all the numbers and you say, ‘Wow,’ †Hernandez said, adding later: “I’m so happy. My first reaction was crying.â€
Hernandez had a 2.27 earned run average while logging 249 2/3 innings and striking out 232. He allowed fewer than seven hits per nine innings, and opponents hit .212.
Hernandez’s victory Thursday continued a trend that began last season, when Zack Greinke won the A.L. award with only 16 wins, and Tim Lincecum took the N.L. prize with just 15. Increasingly, voters are looking beyond a pitcher’s record to decide who performed best.
Some voters disagree, of course, and so does much of the baseball community. In players’ choice voting announced last month, Price was selected most outstanding A.L. pitcher. His 2.72 E.R.A. ranked third in the league, behind Hernandez and Clay Buchholz of Boston (2.33).
“David Price was incredible,†said Mel Antonen, formerly of USA Today, who voted for Price. “I understand the dominance of Felix, and I understand what the statistics say, but in a lot of ways Price was every bit as dominant for a team that needed it to get into the playoffs. I understand the argument for sabermetrics and the new wave of thinking, but it’s not the only way of thinking.â€
Antonen cited Price’s consistency, noting that he allowed three earned runs or fewer in 28 of his 31 starts. He said he was also strongly influenced by Price’s performance in September, when he went 4-0 with a 1.67 E.R.A.
The Rays won all six of Price’s starts in September and secured the best record in the league. The Mariners lost all six of Hernandez’s starts in May, when they still had Cliff Lee and a glimmer of hope at contending. Hernandez was 0-3 with a 4.79 E.R.A. in May.
As it turned out, the Mariners’ offense was far too weak to save their season. The team scored just 513 runs, the fewest of any A.L. team in a full season since the creation of the designated hitter in 1973. But Hernandez did not get much sympathy for that handicap from the National League winner, Roy Halladay.
“Obviously Felix’s numbers are very, very impressive,†Halladay said on his conference call Tuesday. “But I think, ultimately, you look at how guys are able to win games. Sometimes the run support isn’t there, but you sometimes just find ways to win games. I think the guys that are winning and helping their teams deserve a strong look, regardless of how good Felix’s numbers are.â€
Most voters were more forgiving, without needing to dig deeply into complicated metrics to make their case. Hernandez led the league in many advanced categories, but he also ranked first in E.R.A. and innings while finishing second in strikeouts, one behind the Angels’ Jered Weaver.
“If you look at every conceivable measurement for all the candidates, Felix Hernandez â€" other than wins â€" pretty much dominated the field,†said Erik Boland of Newsday, who voted for Hernandez. “So based on that, and based on the award being for best pitcher, not most valuable pitcher â€" because if it was most valuable pitcher, it could have been Sabathia or Price â€" all the measurements, rather dramatically, point toward Felix.â€
Joe Smith, who covers the Rays for The St. Petersburg Times, followed a strong candidate this season in Price. Like Boland, who covers Sabathia, Smith also voted for Hernandez for some of the same reasons.
“Wins are a factor in this type of award, but not the main factor, because it’s one of the least controllable things a pitcher has,†Smith said. “I try to vote based on who was the best pitcher in the league, not the most valuable pitcher, or the best pitcher for the best team. Last year I voted for Greinke, and this year I voted for Felix.â€
Hernandez had 12 starts in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer and did not win. (Price had five such starts, Sabathia three.) In no-decisions and losses, Hernandez’s E.R.A. was 3.34, compared to 3.76 for Price and 5.25 for Sabathia. Hernandez also had 15 starts of at least seven innings with no more than one earned run; the last A.L. pitcher to do that was Pedro Martinez in 2000.
In six starts against Texas, the best team in his division, Hernandez was only 2-3 with a 4.28 E.R.A. Yet in six starts against other playoff teams (the Yankees, the Twins and the Reds), he was 5-1 with a 1.08 E.R.A.
Over all, though, Hernandez’s record was ordinary. It was much better last year, at 19-5, when Greinke won the award. This year Hernandez improved but the Mariners played worse, scoring just 3.06 runs per game for him, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The voters did not penalize Hernandez for that bit of bad luck, and Hernandez did not hold it against his teammates. He said they simply tried too hard for him.
“I think I had great numbers last year and didn’t get it,†Hernandez said. “This year I had great, great numbers â€" better numbers than last year. I was not like: ‘O.K., I should get it.’ But I think I deserve it.â€
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