Just about every analytic in the book favored Gerrit Cole over Justin Verlander … and yet Cole was still robbed AL Cy Young in the 2019 season.
Why? Well, I’d certainly like to know the reasoning that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America decided. Even the most traditional stats, such as ERA and pitching wins don’t fit the criteria. What makes this robbery appear as asinine is the fact that Verlander received 17 first-place votes, while Cole only received thirteen. Yikes.
So … why exactly do I believe Cole deserved to take home the award instead of Verlander?