Oct 19, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) reacts after striking out Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (not pictured) to end the sixth inning in game one of the ALCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
While the Cy Young races might’ve appeared close throughout the season, Astros’ Justin Verlander and Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara ran away with the awards.
For much of the season, it looked as if the Cy Young races in both the American and National Leagues were going to come down to the wire. In the AL, it was Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease seemingly going blow-for-blow with one another to try and determine the league’s superior pitcher. And in the NL, Sandy Alcantara was being challenged by the likes of Julio Urias and others.
When it was all said and done, though, the races weren’t tight at all — at least that’s what the final vote tallies tell us.
Verlander and Alcantara were announced as the Cy Young winners on Wednesday night with both pitchers earning all 30 first-place votes for their respective leagues.
Best memes, tweets reacting to Justin Verlander, Sandy Alcantara winning Cy Young awards
Perhaps one of the best tweets in reaction to the winners encapsulated just how rare of a feat it is for both recipients of the award to be unanimous selections. It had happened just one time before this season.
Beyond that, though, there were plenty of fans and media members celebrating the award win for both players.
With the third win of his career, Verlander also joined elite historical company with this feat.
Alcantara also made some history, though, as he is the first Marlins pitcher to capture a Cy Young award.
Though it’s rare to see unanimous Cy Young winners, it’s hard to make any case that it wasn’t deserved after the 2022 season. Verlander led the AL in virtually every pitching statistic outside of strikeouts while Alcantara hurled six complete games for Miami and was dominant otherwise as well.
Hats off to these two and it’s surely not the last we’ll see of either’s dominance.