Written by Mike Axisa at CBS Sports.com
Once again, Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer is the National League Cy Young award winner.
Major League Baseball and the Baseball Writers Association of America announced Wednesday that Scherzer won his second consecutive NL Cy Young and his third career Cy Young. He won the AL award while with the Tigers in 2013. Scherzer is one of only six pitchers to win the award in both leagues.
Overall this season, Scherzer led the Senior Circuit in strikeouts (268) and WHIP (0.90) while going 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA (177 ERA+) in 200 2/3 innings. His +7.3 WAR was second among all pitchers, trailing only Indians ace Corey Kluber. Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw finished second in the 2017 NL Cy Young vote while Scherzer’s teammate Stephen Strasburg finished third.
Over on the American League side, Indians ace Corey Kluber was named the 2017 AL Cy Young award winner.
- Scherzer: 200 2/3
- Strasburg: 175 1/3
- Kershaw: 175
Both Strasburg and Kershaw missed considerable time with injuries while Scherzer stayed healthy, for the most part. The 25-inning or so deficit was simply too much for Strasburg and Kershaw to make up in the Cy Young voting even though they were every bit as good as Scherzer on a rate basis.
This is the third straight season two teammates have finished in the top three of the NL Cy Young voting. Scherzer and Strasburg did it this year, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs did it last year, and Kershaw and Zack Greinke did it back in 2015, when Greinke was still with the Dodgers.
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