Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Blake Snell rode a 21-win season to the American League Cy Young Award and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom overcame a dearth of run support to win the award in the National League.
Both were first-time winners who bested well-decorated veterans. Snell (21-5, 1.89 earned-run average) finished ahead of Houston Astros veteran Justin Verlander, who won the award in 2011 while with the Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians stalwart Corey Kluber, who won in 2014 and 2017. DeGrom (10-9, 1.70 ERA) ended Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer’s reign at two years.
The awards are decided by members of the Baseball Writers’ Assn.