Astros’ Verlander wins 2019 AL Cy Young Award
By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander has won the 2019 American League Cy Young. This is his second AL Cy Young in his career.
The 36-year-old beat out his teammate Gerrit Cole to win the Cy Young. Verlander won with 171 total points, while Cole had 159 points.
“The adversity I went through puts a new perspective on everything,” he said. “I mean, still would’ve liked to have won a couple of them.”
Verlander went eight years between awards. He was also the 2011 AL Cy Young winner with the Detroit Tigers.
He is just the 20th player to win multiple Cy Young Awards in their careers.
The veteran received 17 first-place points and 12 second-place points. The 29-year-old Cole — who is now a free agent — received 13 first-place points and 17 second-half points.
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Charlie Morton finished third with 75 points.
“I will always try to push the boundaries of what I can do,” Verlander said. “If my body says, ‘Hold on, you can’t do that anymore,’ then I’ll pull back.”
Verlander — who was in his second full season with the Astros in 2019 — went 21-6 in 34 appearances, including 34 starts, with a 2.58 ERA. He also had two complete games and one shootout.
He also had 66 runs (64 earned runs), including 36 home runs, including 137 hits over 223 innings. He also struck out 300 batters and walked 42.
The 34 starts were the second-most in his career, as he had 35 starts in 2009 with the Tigers. The 21 wins were the most since he had 24 wins during the 2011 season, also with the Tigers.
The 223 innings were also the most in a season since the 2012 season when he had 238 1/3 innings pitched.
2019 American League Cy Young Voting
| Pitcher/Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Tot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Verlander, Astros | 17 | 13 | – | – | – | 171 |
| Gerrit Cole, Astros | 13 | 17 | – | – | – | 159 |
| Charlie Morton, Rays | – | – | 18 | 10 | 1 | 75 |
| Shane Bieber, Indians | – | – | 11 | 13 | 5 | 64 |
| Lance Lynn, Rangers | – | – | – | 3 | 12 | 18 |
| Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox | – | – | – | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Lucas Giolito, White Sox | – | – | – | – | 8 | 8 |
| Mike Minor/Rangers | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| — Total points on a 7-4-3-2-1 basis | ||||||
| — Baseball Writers’ Association of America |
