The Cy Young awards for 2015 were handed out Wednesday and Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs and Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros were the winners in the National League and American League. Arrieta beat out two Dodgers pitchers in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, while Keuchel won over David Price and Sonny Gray.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America announced the news that Arrieta won the award with 17 first place votes and 169 points, Keuchel had 22 first place votes and 186 points overall. The National League award voting was closer in the NL, but Arrieta was the clear winner over Greinke and Kershaw. All three players put up historic numbers in 2015, but the voters felt that Arrieta had the most impressive season.
Arrieta went 22-6 for the Cubs with a 1.77 ERA while helping the team make the playoffs and he beat out Greinke, who had 17 first place votes and 147 points, and Kershaw, who had three first place votes and 101 points. Arrieta had a historic second half of the season while going 14 with a 0.75 ERA after the All-Star break, losing just one game and winning 13 straight to end the season. Arietta also threw a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second half of the season. Arrieta finished with 236 strikeouts in 229 innings pitched and he also led the NL in wins and shutouts.
Arrieta had some historic stats, but so did Kershaw and Greinke. Greinke went 19-3 on the season and had a 1.66 ERA, which was the lowest posted ERA in the major leagues since 1995, according to ESPN. Kershaw went 16-7 with a 2.13 ERA and hit the 300 strikeout mark after winning three of the last four Cy Young awards. The Cubs now have won three MLB awards for 2015 after Joe Maddon won manager of the year and Kris Bryant won rookie of the year in the National League.
Keuchel had an impressive season while winning the most games in the American League and he helped the Houston Astros reach the playoffs for the first time in years. Keuchel went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA and he led the American League in innings pitched and WAR this season. Price went 18-5 for the Tigers and the Blue Jays and posted a 2.45 ERA with 225 strikeouts, while Gray went 14-7 with a 2.73 ERA.
