Why CC Sabathia Deserves the American League Cy Young Without a Doubt

            CC Sabathia deserves the Cy Young Award, and there really should be no argument to it. Sure you can tell me how “King” Felix has a much better ERA than Sabathia, but ERA is almost irrelevant when comparing these two pitchers.  

            Think about what teams these guys play for, and where they play. Sabathia is pitching in the bright lights of New York, and Felix is pitching in Seattle. Yeah, Seattle. What city do you think is more of a pressure cooker to pitch in? Exactly.

            The Mariners are terrible, giving Hernandez barely any run support. The guy finds himself in 2-1 and 3-2 games all the time. Sabathia, on the other hand, can be pitching flawlessly in a 1-0 game through 7 innings. Suddenly, A-Rod hits a grand slam, and Curtis Granderson hits a 2-run double. Next thing you know, the Yankees are up 7-0. It’s times like these where Sabathia can afford to pitch to the scoreboard, and this can result in giving up 2 or 3 runs.

            Hernandez never all of a sudden. See where I’m going? When Sabathia can all of a sudden start pitching to contact, he might give up a few runs. This results in his ERA going up in late, meaningless innings.

            Also, don’t give me the whole, “Well a lot of pitchers succeed off pitching to contact.” Yeah, well news flash! Sabathia isn’t this type of pitcher, he’s a strikeout pitcher. Pitching to contact isn’t his game, and when he does, it results in more runs given up.

            Sorry, but 13 wins on a last place team just doesn’t cut it for the Cy Young award. Not to mention the fact that he pitches in easily the worst division in baseball. Sabathia has 21 wins in the great American League East, and he pitches for a championship-caliber club.

           Sabathia is just a flat-out work horse. He gets the job done, and has gotten it done all year. Hernandez’s ERA and strikeout totals might be off the charts, but 13-12 is very, very average. Sabathia will be right there doing whatever he can to carry the Yankees back to the World Series, like he did last year.

           So, if you have a vote, vote Sabathia. Don’t let the ERA fool you. Look at what really matters. Wins, quality division, and how good of a team you’re pitching for. Sabathia deserves the award, hands down.