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In his first season in the National League following a December 2011 trade from the Oakland A's to the Washington Nationals, 26-going-on-27-year-old left-hander Gio Gonzalez finished the year with the the most wins in baseball at (21-8), a 2.89 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 76 walks (3.43 BB/9) and 207 Ks (9.35 K/9) in 32 starts and 199.1 IP for the NL East champion Nats, who finished the year with the best record in baseball.
24-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw finished his fifth MLB season with a (14-9) record, 2.53 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 63 BB (2.49 BB/9) and 229 Ks (9.05 K/9). 37-year-old New York Mets' right-handed knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, who turned 38 in late October, finished his 10th MLB season at (20-6) with a 2.73 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 54 BB (2.08 BB/9) and 230 Ks (8.86 K/9).
The three pitchers finished in the top three spots in the SB Nation's baseball writers' year-end voting for the 2012 NL Pitcher of the Year. You can find the final order in the voting below. First some stats...
Gonzalez finished fourth in the NL in total Ks with 207, tied with Philadelphia Phillies' lefty Cliff Lee behind Lee's teammate Cole Hamels at 216, Kershaw at 229 and Dickey, who finished the year with an NL-leading 230 Ks. Gonzalez had the highest K/9, however, with (9.35 K/9) ahead of the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija and the Cards' Lance Lynn, who finished the year tied for second at 9.27 K/9.
The Nationals' left-hander had the NL's lowest HR/9 (0.41 HR/9) ahead of Atlanta Braves' right-hander Tim Hudson and Houston Astros' right-hander Lucas Harrell who both finished the year at 0.60 HR/9, tied for second in the National League.
Gonzalez's .201 BAA was the NL's lowest, with Kershaw second-lowest overall with a .204 BAA and the Giants' Matt Cain third-lowest with a .217 BAA. Gonzalez's ERA, 2.89, was the National League's sixth-lowest behind St. Louis Cardinals' right-hander Kyle Lohse, 2.86, the Giants' Cain, 2.79, the Reds' Johnny Cueto, 2.78, R.A. Dickey, 2.67, and Kershaw, whose 2.53 ERA was the NL's lowest ERA for the second year in a row.
Gio Gonzalez's 2.82 FIP was the lowest in the NL, ahead of Kershaw's 2.89 FIP and the D-Backs' Wade Miley at 3.04. Gonzalez finished second in the NL at +5.4 fWAR according to Fangraphs.com, behind only Kershaw at +5.5 fWAR and the ahead Arizona's rookie lefty Wade Miley at +5.0 fWAR. Baseball-Reference.com had Gonzalez fourth at +4.5 bWAR with Kershaw on top as well at +6.2 bWAR ahead of the Reds' Cueto at +5.8 bWAR, and Dickey at +5.6 bWAR.
Gonzalez finished third overall in the SB Nation's SBN 2012 NL Pitcher of the Year Award voting, however.
So who won the 2012 SBN NL Pitcher of the Year Award according to the SB Nation's baseball writers?
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R.A. Dickey | New York Mets | 13 | 11 | 6 | 2 |   | 157 |
| Clayton Kershaw | Los Angeles Dodgers | 11 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 154 |
| Gio Gonzalez | Washington Nationals | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 129 |
| Johnny Cueto | Cincinnati Reds | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 73 |
| Cliff Lee | Philadelphia Phillies |   |   | 5 | 4 | 3 | 26 |
| Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants |   |   | 1 | 5 | 4 | 17 |
| Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies |   | 1 |   | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| Craig Kimbrel | Atlanta Braves |   |   | 1 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| Wade Miley | Arizona Diamondbacks |   |   |   | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Kris Medlen | Atlanta Braves |   |   |   |   | 3 | 3 |
| Lance Lynn | St. Louis Cardinals |   |   |   |   | 1 | 1 |