Not shocking at all but well deserved
Blake Snell officially is a two-time Cy Young award winner. We all knew he was going to win it over Logan Webb and Zac Gallen but it hadn’t been announced until today on MLB Network.
The 30-year-old saved his best year with the Padres for last, posting a league-best 2.25 ERA with 234 strikeouts in 180 innings. Look at this ridiculous tweet from Jeff Passan in late September (and by ridiculous I mean impressive):
Blake Snell’s runs allowed in his last 23 starts:
0
0
0
2
0
0
3
2
2
3
1
1
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
1That is 19 runs — 18 earned — in 135 innings. A 1.20 ERA. A historically great run that will end in the National League Cy Young Award as Snell hits free agency this winter.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 26, 2023
Snell now joins Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay and Max Scherzer as the only pitchers in MLB history to win the Cy Young in both leagues. He’s the fifth Padre in franchise history to win the award, joining Jake Peavy (2007), Mark Davis (1989), Gaylord Perry (1978) and Randy Jones (1976).
What made Snell’s season so impressive was that he was able to have such dominating numbers despite walking 99 batters (yes! 99) and having 14 starts with four or more walks. Some might say that makes his Cy Young less impressive because he allowed a ton of base runners but it shouldn’t be because he dominated while pitching under more pressure than others all season.
The only thing negative in Snell’s season is that his great year didn’t help get the Padres into the postseason (although it wasn’t because of him).
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Title: Blake Snell wins 2023 NL Cy Young award
Author: Ben Fadden
