Last offseason the Toronto Blue Jays rolled the dice on lefty Robbie Ray with a one-year, $8 million contract, and he rewarded them with a Cy Young season in 2021. Wednesday night the Baseball Writers Association of America announced Ray beat out Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and White Sox righty Lance Lynn for the American League Cy Young award.
Ray received 29 of the 30 first place votes. The other went to Cole.
Ray, 30, had a marvelous first full season with the Blue Jays, throwing a league best 193 1/3 innings while leading qualified pitchers in ERA (2.84), ERA+ (154), WHIP (1.05), and WAR (7.6). He is the first Toronto pitcher to win the award since the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay in 2003, and the fifth Blue Jays pitcher overall, joining Halladay, Roger Clemens (1997, 1998), and Pat Hentgen (1996).
Here's how the three American League Cy Young finalists stack up:
Gerrit Cole, Yankees
16-8
181 1/3
3.23
133
12.1
2.0
5.7
Lance Lynn, White Sox
11-6
157
2.69
161
10.1
2.6
5.4
Robbie Ray, Blue Jays
13-7
193 1/3
2.84
154
11.5
2.4
7.6
The Cy Young award comes at an excellent time for Ray, who is currently a free agent and poised to sign a lucrative long-term deal. Our R.J. Anderson ranked him the best free agent starter on the market and the sixth best free agent overall. No longer before the Cy Young announcement, Ray officially declined the one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer.
Cole finished second to Ray in the voting, earning his fourth straight (and fifth overall) top five finish in the Cy Young voting. He was the favorite to win the award most of the season, though he stumbled a bit following MLB's foreign substance crackdown in June, then he limped to the finish following a hamstring injury in September. In many other years, Cole would have won the Cy Young.
Lynn was hampered a bit by a knee problem down the stretch -- he fell five innings short of qualifying for the ERA title -- but was consistently excellent all season. This is his highest ever finish in the Cy Young voting and his third straight finish in the top six. Lynn could have become a free agent this offseason like Ray, though he signed a two-year extension a few weeks ago.
Other American League hurlers to receive Cy Young votes this season include White Sox lefty Carlos Rodón and Red Sox righty Nathan Eovaldi. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani is the favorite to be named AL MVP on Thursday. He did not receive any Cy Young votes, however. Full AL Cy Young voting results are available at the BBWAA's site.
Ray is the seventh different pitcher to win the AL Cy Young in the last seven years, joining Shane Bieber (2020), Justin Verlander (2019), Blake Snell (2018), Corey Kluber (2017), Rick Porcello (2016), Dallas Keuchel (2015). The last repeat winner in the Junior Circuit was Clemens in 1997-98.
