Pitching Greatness is No Longer Measured by Wins

Zach Greinke’s distinction of sharing the record for the fewest number of wins by a Cy Young winning pitcher (16) didn’t last long as the record is now solely in the hands of Tim Lincecum (15).

In fact, it shows how times have changed to consider that the 31 total victories between the two 2009 Cy Young Award winners equals the total number of wins that Denny McLain registered when winning the American League Cy Young Award in 1968.

It used to be that the number one criteria for a starting pitcher being a serious Cy Young Award candidate was how many victories he recorded in a season. Sure, other factors like strikeouts, ERA and winning percentage have always been important, but the top prize for a pitcher usually was reserved for a hurler who either led the league or came close to leading the league in wins.

The voting for the 2009 Cy Young Awards clearly illustrates that is no longer the case.

Though Lincecom finished with one fewer victory than Greinke, he actually finished fourth in the National League in wins while Greinke’s total was good enough to tie for seventh in the AL.

What seems to have made Greinke and Lincecum appealing to voters was their performance in other categories.

Despite playing for the woeful Kansas City Royals, Greinke posted a 2.16 ERA, which is the lowest total in the American League since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 mark in 2000. He also finished second in the league with 242 strikeouts.

While Greinke’s selection was widely expected, Lincecum’s repeat as the National League winner was a slight surprise. Lincecum finished second in the NL with a 2.48 ERA. 2005 Cy Young Winner Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals led the league with a 2.24 ERA and finished with a 17-4 record, compared to the 15-7 mark for Lincecum.

What seems to have given Lincecum an advantage over Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, who finished with a 19-8 record and 2.63 ERA was his strikeout total.

Lincecum registered a league best 261 K’s while Wainwright had 212 and Carpenter just 144.

The selection of Greinke and Lincecum as Cy Young winners seems to signal the completion of what has been a gradual reduction over the last decade of the value of victories as a measuring stick of greatness for starting pitchers.

In an era when most starters often pitch only six or seven innings, voters seem to now recognize that the victory total for a starting pitcher is largely out of his hands.

Greinke won 16 games, but very easily could have had many more wins. He allowed four or more earned runs in just five of his 33 starts during the season. He also pitched more than seven innings only 10 times with just three of those starts coming after the first of July.

Lincecum’s results were strikingly similar. He surrendered four or more runs five times in 32 starts and pitched more than seven innings 11 times.

I guess the selection of two pitchers with so few victories could be a one-year aberration, but I seriously doubt that to be the case. I think in the future we will end up with more Cy Young Award winners with 16 or fewer wins than we do with 20 or more victories.

Five lowest combined win totals for Cy Young Winners (since 1967, includes only years when two starting pitchers won the awards):

31 – 2009 – Tim Lincecum (15), Zach Greinke (16)

32 – 1994 – Greg Maddux (16), David Cone (16) * Strike Season

35 – 2006 – Brandon Webb (16), Johan Santana (19)

37 – 1995 – Greg Maddux (19), Randy Johnson (18) * Strike Season

37 – 2000 – Randy Johnson (19), Pedro Martinez (18)

To read more from Dean, go to his sports blog: Sports Then and Now!