Aug 30, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws to the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Corbin Burnes came out winning the NL Cy Young narrowly over Zack Wheeler, but did the Phillies ace get robbed of the award?
The NL Cy Young award was handed out on Wednesday night as MLB continues to gift hardware to the top performers of the 2021 season. But the top pitcher in the National League was highly debated, particularly in comparison to Robbie Ray deservedly taking home the AL Cy Young.
The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler, Brewers’ Corbin Burnes and Dodgers/Nationals’ Max Scherzer were named as the finalists and it was anyone’s guess as to which team would get the nod when the votes were finally tallied.
In the end, it was Burnes that got the award after an admittedly phenomenal season for Milwaukee:
It was an exceptionally close race between Burnes and Wheeler, though, which raises the question of the Philadelphia ace was more deserving than the actual winner.
NL Cy Young voting results: Was Zack Wheeler robbed?
Here’s a look at how the BBWA NL Cy Young voting shook out:
Just 10 voting points separated Wheeler and Burnes while Scherzer was a bit behind them.
Again, Burnes no doubt dominated this season for the Brewers as he finished with a 2.43 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with an unreal 234 strikeouts. Wheeler, however, was not far behind as he finished with a 2.78 ERA and 1.008 WHIP while besting Burnes in strikeouts with 247 of his own.
All told, this was a close race for a reason as very little separated Burnes and Wheeler. It’s difficult to say that the Phillies star was robbed, especially given that he might’ve conceded the award with some mid-summer struggles. Alas, the Phils have to be pleased that they have a stud like Wheeler leading their rotation heading into 2022, regardless of if he’s a Cy Young winner or not.