The SB Nation 2011 NL Cy Young Award Goes To...What? A Tie?

by Patrick Reddington on Nov 9, 2011 1:03 PM EST

• A Draw?: A (19-6) vs a (21-5) record, not that wins and losses are an accurate way to judge a pitcher's success. A 2.35 ERA, 2.20 FIP, 8.47 K/9 and 1.35 BB/9 vs a 2.28 ERA, 2.47 FIP, 9.57 K/9 and 2.08 BB/9. .233 BAA vs .204 BAA. 8.2 WAR vs 6.8 WAR. How does one decide which player to choose as the 2011 NL Cy Young Award winner? Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies were the NL East division winners, but they lost in the first round of the 2011 Playoffs. Clayton Kershaw was the ace of a Dodgers team that finished 11.5 games out in the NL West. Halladay excelled on one of the better teams in the league. Kershaw put up comparable numbers on a far weaker team. How does one decide? How would you? The SB Nation's writers voted and picked their top five nominees for the 2011 NL Cy Young Award. 7 points for a first place vote, 4 for a second place vote, 3 for 3rd, 2 for 4th, 1 for 5th. Who's your 2011 NL Cy Young Award Winner?

• Results of the SB Nation's baseball writer's voting and my ballot after the JUMP...

Num	Name	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
1	Clayton Kershaw	14	11	2		1	149
1	Roy Halladay	13	13	2			149
3	Cliff Lee		4	21	2		83
4	Ian Kennedy			3	14	6	43
5	Cole Hamels	1			7	8	29
6	Madison Bumgarner				2	3	7
7	Tim Lincecum				1	4	6
8	Matt Cain				1	3	5
9	Chris Carpenter				1		2
10	Johnny Cueto					1	1
11	Zach Greinke					1	1
12	Craig Kimbrel					1	1

• My Ballot:

1. Clayton Kershaw - LAD - (21-5), 33 GS, 233.1 IP, 2.28 ERA, 2.47 FIP, 9.57 K/9, 2.08 BB/9, 0.58 HR/9, 6.8 WAR.

2. Roy Halladay - PHI - (19-6), 32 GS, 233.2 IP, 2.35 ERA, 2.20 FIP, 8.47 K/9, 1.35 BB/9, 0.39 HR/9, 8.2 WAR.

3. Cliff Lee - PHI - (17-8), 32 GS, 232.2 IP, 2.40 ERA, 2.60 FIP, 9.21 K/9, 1.62 BB/9, 0.70 HR/9, 6.7 WAR.

4. Ian Kennedy - ARZ - (21-4), 33 GS, 222.0 IP, 2.88 ERA, 3.22 FIP, 8.03 K/9, 2.23 BB/9, 0.77 HR/9, 5.0 WAR.

5. Craig Kimbrel - ATL - (4-3), 46 SV, 79 G, 77.0 IP, 2.10 ERA, 1.52 FIP, 14.84 K/9, 3.74 BB/9, 0.35 HR/9, 3.2 WAR.

• Who is your 2011 NL Cy Young Award Winner? (ed. note - "Just to clear up any confusion, all the pitchers who dominated the Nats this year were not actually named 'Cy', that was just a joke. Thanks.")

Poll

Who should have won the 2011 NL Cy Young Award?

Clayton Kershaw (LAD) ?

133 votes

Roy Halladay (PHI) ?

56 votes

Cliff Lee (PHI) ?

3 votes

Ian Kennedy (ARZ) ?

6 votes

Cole Hamels (PHI) ?

0 votes

198 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Doghouse voted too, I wonder if he'll try to justify his OUTRAGEOUS picks...

J/K, they weren’t too outrageous…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Patrick Reddington on Nov 9, 2011 1:18 PM EST reply actions

I think my top 3 were the same as yours.

I blame society.

"If you ain't got the pants, you ain't got a chance." --PerryMason (on the sartorial component of being a Real Ballplayer)

by Doghouse on Nov 9, 2011 1:39 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

You were weaned too early.

It’s incredibly close: Kershaw 2 more wins for a worse team, plus slightly better in ERA, K/9. Halliday slightly better in FIP, K/BB, HR/9, plus the difference in WAR. I might lean ever so slightly to the resident of NTN, but could be swayed either way.

Brain: "Pinky, are you pondering what i'm pondering?"
Pinky: "Yes, ... wait, ... no, ... never mind"

by jbg2772 on Nov 9, 2011 2:10 PM EST up reply actions

How do you not vote for Halladay?

He has a higher WAR, a lower FIP and a lower BB/9 for a better team. I don’t see the the rationale for Kershaw, who did admittedly have a simply amazing year, over Doc.

by mrs. nook logan on Nov 9, 2011 2:05 PM EST reply actions