Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Indians was awarded the top pitching honor in the American League by the BBWAA tonight. It’s Bieber’s first Cy Young award. He finished 4th in Cy Young voting last season. Bieber was a unanimous winner, taking all 30 first place votes.
Bieber stood head and shoulders above the field in 2020, his age-25 season and third in the majors. Over 12 starts, he went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA/2.07 FIP with 14.2 K/9 to 2.4 BB/9, good for 3.3 rWAR and a 281 ERA+. He led the majors in wins, ERA, FIP, ERA+, strikeouts, and strikeout rate, while he led the American League with the fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.4 H/9). Simply, it was a remarkable season for Bieber.
Kenta Maeda of the Twins finished 2nd with 18 of 30 2nd-place votes and 92 total points. Hyun Jin Ryu of the Blue Jays finished 3rd with 51 total points, one ahead of the 4th-place finisher Gerrit Cole. There were 11 different pitchers to receive at least one vote. Bieber is the first unanimous winner in the AL since Justin Verlander in 2011.