Rick Porcello joins Max Scherzer as AL and NL Cy Young Award Winners

By Francisco Romero. – Even though Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello received less (8 first place votes) first place votes than Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander (14 first place votes), Porcello won the prestigious award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Overall Porcello received a total of 137 votes while Verlander received 135; according to the BBWAA. The five-point differential is the second closest of any election since ballots permitted voting for more than one pitcher in 1970.

At 22-4 (.846), Porcello led the majors in wins and ranked second in winning percentage behind Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez (.882, 15-2). The 27-year-old became the 17th pitcher ever to win as many as 22 games in a season for the Red Sox, the first to do so since Martinez went 23-4 in 1999. Porcello began the season with a 20-3 record, becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to win at least 20 of his first 23 decisions.

Max Scherzer (National League)

Former Arizona Diamonbacks pitcher, Washington Nationals’ ace Max Scherzer won the National League Cy Young Award.

Scherzer, the 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner, is now just the sixth pitcher in Major League history to win the award in both leagues. He joins Hall of Famers Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Johnson, as well as Roger Clemens and Roy Halladay in the exclusive group. Scherzer is also the first player in Nationals history (2005-present) to take home baseball’s top pitching honor and just the second in franchise history (Nationals/Expos), joining only Martinez (1997).

Scherzer finished the 2016 season with a 20-7 record and a 2.96 ERA. He led National League pitchers in wins, strikeouts (284), innings pitched (228.1), games started (34), quality starts (26), WHIP (0.97), opponent on-base percentage (.254), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.07), while ranking among the leaders in several other categories.