• 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.")