Let’s give Pete Vuckovich credit for modesty.
The Milwaukee righthander fashioned an 18-6 record in 1982, playing a key role in the Brewers’ drive to the only World Series appearance in their history. He was rewarded with the American League’s Cy Young Award.
“I can’t take full credit,” Vuckovich said. “I just happen to be lucky enough to be out there on the days when the team’s playing well enough for me to be a winner.”
He had a point. The Brewers scored at least six runs in half of his 30 starts. His 18 victories included six in which he surrendered at least 10 hits or six walks.
Precisely 50 AL pitchers worked enough innings to qualify for the earned-run-average title in 1982. Vuckovich ranked 45th in that group with a 1.502 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) and 47th with just 1.03 strikeouts per walk. The only qualifiers who did worse in both categories were Doc Medich (who posted a 12-15 win-loss record) and Matt Keough (11-18).
So it’s safe to say that the voters got it wrong in 1982.
There’s no danger of a repeat when 2021’s Cy Young winners are announced next Wednesday. This year’s finalists all enjoyed strong seasons — Gerrit Cole, Lance Lynn, and Robbie Ray in the American League, Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer, and Zack Wheeler in the National League.
But that doesn’t mean that Vuckovich was a completely atypical fluke. He’s included below among 10 questionable Cy Young honorees, ranging all the way from the 1960s to the 21st century.
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Jim Lonborg (Red Sox, AL 1967)
Record: 22-9, 3.16 ERA
Better choice: Joe Horlen, White Sox (19-7, 2.06)
Notes: Yes, the Red Sox were a great story in 1967, coming out of nowhere to win the pennant. And yes, Lonborg had a magical season, easily the best in his 15-year career. But the White Sox alone had three starters with ERAs half a run lower than Lonborg’s. Fourteen AL starting pitchers had WHIPs below Lonborg’s 1.138, with Horlen the very lowest at 0.953.
Mike McCormick (Giants, NL 1967)
Record: 22-10, 2.85 ERA
Better choice: Jim Bunning, Phillies (17-15, 2.29)
Notes: Cy Young voters were off their game in 1967, picking both Lonborg and McCormick. The latter led the National League with 22 wins, but his ERA wasn’t among the 15 best, and he was a weak 33rd in strikeouts per walk. The case could be made that McCormick wasn’t even as valuable as fellow San Francisco starter Gaylord Perry (2.61 ERA in 293 innings).
Sparky Lyle (Yankees, AL 1977)
Record: 13-5, 26 saves, 2.17 ERA
Better choice: Frank Tanana, Angels (15-9, 2.54)
Notes: Relief pitchers rarely are an ideal choice for a Cy Young Award. Most don’t pitch enough innings to carry the same value as a starter. Lyle worked 137 innings, which would be high for a reliever these days, yet still was only seventh-most on the Yankees’ staff in 1977. Starter Ron Guidry (16-7, 2.82) clearly was more important for New York that year.
Steve Stone (Orioles, AL 1980)
Record: 25-7, 3.23 ERA
Better choice: Mike Norris, Athletics (22-9, 2.53)
Notes: Stone’s 25 victories easily topped the league, outstripping the next-best total by three. But his ERA was only seventh-best in the AL, and his WHIP of 1.297 was a mediocre 18th. Stone’s greatest strength was his run support. The Orioles scored an average of 5.7 runs in his starts. Support for all of the league’s pitchers was just 4.5 runs per start.
Pete Vuckovich (Brewers, AL 1982)
Record: 18-6, 3.34 ERA
Better choice: Dave Stieb, Blue Jays (17-14, 3.25)
Notes: Stieb finished just one win behind Vuckovich, even though the latter’s club won the pennant and the Blue Jays were a sub-.500 team. Stieb’s ERA was only marginally better, but he trounced Vuckovich in other important categories, with more innings pitched (288.1 vs. 223.2), a lower WHIP (1.200 vs 1.502), and more strikeouts per walk (1.88 vs. 1.03).
Steve Bedrosian (Phillies, NL 1987)
Record: 5-3, 40 saves, 2.83 ERA
Better choice: Bob Welch, Dodgers (15-9, 3.22)
Notes: Another reliever, another mistake. Bedrosian surely was no more valuable to his own club than Shane Rawley, who worked 229.2 innings as a starter and notched 17 wins. Bedrosian pitched only 89 innings. And his clutch performances weren’t even all that important, since the Phillies finished 80-82, miring them in fourth place in the NL East.
Bob Welch (Athletics, AL 1990)
Record: 27-6, 2.95 ERA
Better choice: Roger Clemens, Red Sox (21-6, 1.93)
Notes: Consider the irony. Welch probably warranted the Cy Young in 1987, when he won only 15 games. But his 27-victory season in 1990 seems undeserving in comparison to Clemens’s performance. The Red Sox ace struck out 209 and gave up just seven home runs in 1990, while Welch posted only 127 strikeouts and surrendered 26 homers.
Roger Clemens (Yankees, AL 2001)
Record: 20-3, 3.51 ERA
Better choice: Mike Mussina, Yankees (17-11, 3.15)
Notes: This has nothing to do with performance-enhancing drugs. It’s just that Clemens enjoyed a remarkably lucky 20-win season. The Yankees plated an average of 5.7 runs in his 33 starts, yet they scored only 4.2 runs per game in teammate Mussina’s 34 starts. Mussina had a better ERA and a much better ratio of strikeouts to walks (5.10 vs. 2.96 for Clemens).
Eric Gagne (Dodgers, NL 2003)
Record: 2-3, 55 saves, 1.20 ERA
Better choice: Mark Prior, Cubs (18-6, 2.43)
Notes: It’s true that Gagne locked up 10 saves more than any other National League reliever, and it’s also true that his ERA was microscopic. But it’s hard to believe that he was really more important to the Dodgers than starter Kevin Brown (14-9, 2.39, 211 innings). And Gagne’s overall numbers don’t stack up to Prior’s 18-win season for the resurgent Cubs.
Bartolo Colon (Angels, AL 2005)
Record: 21-8, 3.48 ERA
Better choice: Johan Santana, Twins (16-7, 2.87)
Notes: Colon stuck around for so long — 21 years with 11 clubs — that his Cy Young Award is often forgotten. His 21 wins dazzled the voters, who ignored the fact that Santana had a better ERA, a much lower WHIP (0.971 vs. 1.159 for Colon), and much better control (5.29 strikeouts per walk vs. 3.65 for Colon).