Is The Cy Young A Consolation Award?

With the news that C.C. Sabathia has beaten Boston powerhouse Josh Beckett to the AL Cy Young Award, no doubt many fans and media alike will start to question the validity of the award.

Understandably so since it was Beckett who seemed invincible throughout the season, which continued right through to Boston sweeping the World Series against Colorado.

Beckett also overpowered the Cleveland ace when the two teams met in the ALDS, steering Boston from being 3-1 down to a remarkable (although surprisingly easy) comeback win.

Even I questioned if Sabathia's win was no more than a consolation prize (thus the title of this post), given that he performed well in the season after two disastrous seasons destroyed by injuries and Cleveland were sympathetic losers in the postseason.

However, such awards are not based on popular opinion. Sure enough, Beckett did a fantastic job and stormed to a 20 game winning season - the first big leaguer to do so since 2005. The man had amazing numbers and was often portrayed in the media as the best pitcher in the game right now, with clutch performances down the stretch.

Unfortunately, statistics play a big part in determining who snares these awards. And Sabathia just about shaded it in most departments.

3.21 ERA
241 innings
209 strikeouts
37 walks

Compare that to Beckett's numbers:

3.27 ERA
200 innings
194 strikeouts
40 walks

There will still be a sneaking feeling that Sabathia might have collected a fair share of sympathy votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. However, another clincher could be that comparatively, Sabathia plays behind a team on the whole, admittedly weaker than Boston. At least in terms of run support.

At the end of the day, it will be Sabathia's name in the history books.